Tonight
by sleep on stars
Summary: “Ready?” Miley whispered, “Let’s go” Nick smiled. He grabbed her hand and the two ran off towards their destination. xx Niley
1. Full Circle

_Every time you're near  
Trouble disappears  
Under the ground  
But when you go too far  
Silver clouds will start hanging around _

Miley **Stewart (happy fanfiction?!)** giggled as she climbed down the ladder that led up to her bedroom from the backyard of her house. She held her breath as she jumped down, her feet landing hard on the grass. She slung her purple backpack onto her left shoulder and dashed towards the fence. She finally approached the one thing that was keeping her away from him. Miley tossed the backpack over the white fence and then hopped it, scratching her leg in the process. "Crap" she muttered. However, the smile reappeared quickly as her eyes landed on the boy's house, across the street.

The street lights flickered on and off as she tip toed across the road. Miley ran across the front yard towards the back of the house. She spotted his bedroom window and picked up a handful of rocks from his mother's garden throwing them at the glass.

As the rocks connected with the window all that was heard was...

_Click Clack Click Clack_

A figure appeared in the window. Miley smiled brightly as the boy opened the window and stuck one leg out and then the other. There was no ladder. He jumped down, landing on his two feet.

"Ready?" Miley whispered.

"Let's go" Nick smiled.

He grabbed her hand and the two ran off towards their destination. Once they arrived at the abandoned warehouse and got comfortable they finally greeted each other the proper way. "Well, good evening" Nick smiled sheepishly as he leaned in and connected his lips with hers. Miley smiled into the kiss, "Good. Evening. To. You. Too." She said in between kisses. They finally broke apart.

"Got the goods?" Nick asked.

"Nick, we've been doing this for about two years now. Of course I have them!" she laughed.

Miley and Nick had been sneaking out of their houses and going to the old abandoned warehouse every night for the past two years. It had become a tradition. It was the only place they could actually be together without any pressure or people around.

"Lay it on me Mi" Nick smiled.

She loved it when he called her 'Mi'. It made her sound like she was his. Which she was, but it just made her feel special.

"Alright, we got Twizzlers! We got Tostitos! We got Salsa! And to top all of that off … sugar free marshmallows" she smiled approvingly as she dumped the substances out of her backpack.

"Sugar free?" Nick whined.

Miley gave him a look as if to say 'hey at least I got some sort of dessert'. "Thank you" he smiled, then gave her a chaste kiss on the cheek.

Miley fell onto her back and stared up at the ceiling. There was a hole in the middle of the roof, allowing the moon to shine in and them to see a few stars. Nick soon followed her. They rested their head on Miley's backpack and Miley snuggled into the sweatshirt Nick was wearing.

"You think we'll always do this?" Miley asked Nick who was admiring the full moon.

"You mean, come here every night?" Nick asked her, while switching his gaze over to her.

Miley just nodded her head. Nick smiled, placed a gentle kiss on the top of her head and draped his arm around Miley's petite waist, pulling her closer to him. "As long as you want to" Nick answered simply, "Wherever you go, I'll follow"

Miley snorted, but in a cute way. Nick laughed at her cuteness. "You can be real cheesy sometimes Jonas number 3"

She often called the brothers by a number. It had to do with the order they were born in. If she was mad at Joe she would scream from across the room "Stop being a jerk number 2!" he hated it when she called him a number, trying to tell her that his name was Joe and he was too important and awesome to be called by a number. She totally ignored him.

Nick rolled his eyes playfully, "It's the kind of effect you have on me"

"This is my favorite part of the day" Miley mumbled, but quickly covered her mouth with her hand. That slipped. He wasn't supposed to know that.

"Same here Mi. Same here"

Miley looked up into Nick's sparkling eyes and only saw sincereity. At that exact moment she knew, she loved him.

* * *

**Like it? Love it? Hate it? Tell me in your review!**

**xxEmilyKearsexx**


	2. I'm Yours

__

So I won't hesitate no more, no more  
It cannot wait I'm sure  
There's no need to complicate  
Our time is short  
This is our fate, I'm yours

Miley woke up the next morning in Nick's arms. She was trying to think of the previous events, one minute she and Nick had been laughing and throwing Twizzlers at each and the next they were cuddled up next to each other. They must have fallen asleep.

"Crap" Miley mumbled under her breath.

She tried to gently make her way out of Nick's grasp, but that wasn't exactly working so instead, she kissed Nick softly on the lips. Nick immediately smiled and started to kiss back, but was met with nothing but thin air. Miley's lips were gone. His luscious eyelashes fluttered open, revealing his gorgeous eyes.

"Your fun to wake up to" he smiled.

Miley just rolled her eyes, "We have to get out of here…remember the last time your Dad found you sneaking into your room at 6 am?" Miley asked, raising her left eyebrow.

Nick shuddered, "He decided that was the best moment to lay '_the talk' _on me"

Miley giggled, "Exactly. So we gotta get going"

Nick sighed, but obeyed. He raised his two arms up, letting Miley know he needed help getting up.

"Are you serious? You're like ten times stronger than me!" she giggled while pulling on his arms, lifting him off the ground.

"Yeah, but that's just an excuse I get to use to have you touch me" he smiled sheepishly.

"Shut up number 3" she stuck her tongue out at him.

Nick just smiled, took a hold of Miley's hand and the two ran off to their houses. Once the two made it to the back of Miley's house she checked her cell phone for the time. "4:25 a new record!" she joked. Nick smiled, "Tonight I'm in charge of the food right?" Nick asked, still holding Miley's hand.

"Yes sir!" she pretended to be a soldier.

Nick laughed as he watched Miley salute him, she was too freakin cute for her own good. The two finally stopped laughing and just stood there, looking into each others eyes. "I hate when you have to leave" Miley pouted.

Nick leaned in, capturing Miley's lips in a slow, sweet kiss. "Hey, Hannah and the JoBros got a gig tomorrow afternoon right?" he smiled.

Miley nodded happily, "See you on stage?"

"I'll be the one with the really curly hair"

Miley connected their lips one last time and then skipped towards the ladder leading up to her room. Nick sighed as he watched Miley's figure disappear into her room. He then hopped the white fence, scratching himself in the process. "Crap" he muttered. **(A/N: I just had to do it!) **He finally made it across the street and into his backyard. He spotted the vine that grew along his house and started to climb up it. As he climbed into his room, his phone started to vibrate. He hopped into his bedroom and pulled the device out of his jeans pocket.

**From: Miles **

**Sweet dreams xoxo**

Nick smiled and then let his fingers run across the keypad, after pressing send he discarded his jeans and shirt and threw on some sweats. He finally climbed into bed, drifting off into a peaceful slumber, filled with dreams of a brown haired beauty.

* * *

Miley was staring at her complexion in the mirror of her bathroom when his ring tone started to play, signaling she had just received a text from him.

_Forgive me if I stutter  
From all of the clutter in my head  
Cuz I could fall asleep in those eyes  
Like a water bed_

She flipped open her 'Voyager' and read the text message.

**From: Nicky**

**I will, but only because they'll be all about you **

**xoxo**

Miley's smile grew ten times bigger. She set her phone down on the counter and removed the little make up she had on her face. She then ran her toothbrush across her teeth, gargled and spit the water into the sink. She walked out of the bathroom and towards her dresser, opening the bottom drawer and taking out a pair of Nick's sweats and one of her white tank tops.

Once she was in her pajamas, she climbed into bed thinking about the gorgeous eyes that belonged to a gorgeous boy.

* * *

Miley's eyes snapped open when she heard banging on her bedroom door, "GET UP!" Jackson called from the opposite side of the door.

Miley groaned and pulled her comforter above her head, shielding her ears from the racket. "Why?" Jackson heard Miley's muffled voice ask.

Jackson rolled his eyes, he knew what he was about to say next would definitely wake her up, "Kevin, Joe and _Nick _are gonna be here in 20 minutes. So unless you wanna show Nick what you really look like in the morning…I'd get a move on with the make up already!" Jackson teased. He was always picking on her, hey…it was his job!

Miley shot up like a rocket from her bed and made a B line for her Hannah closet. "I'm up!" she called back to Jackson.

"Of course you are" Jackson snickered.

* * *

"So uh, Nick. You seemed to be getting home a little late last night" Joe teased. Of course he knew what Miley and Nick did every night, he just loved picking on him about it. Nick and Joe shared a bedroom so it was pretty hard to keep it from him. Kevin on the other hand was completely oblivious. Nick had no idea how Joe kept it from him. He was usually such a blabber mouth.

"Guys!" Kevin called from the front yard, "I'm walking over to Miley's now, you two coming or are you going to keep acting like idiots?"

Nick didn't wait another second. He sprinted out the front door and ran to Kevin's side. "Slow poke!" Nick called back to Joe who was still walking down the steps of the front porch. "Hey! I'm soar ok? I didn't know Frankie had that much game when it came to basketball, so my legs aren't exactly in their best shape right now" he winced as he put pressure onto his left leg.

"I can picture him now" Kevin whispered to Nick, "sitting on a wheelchair, singing on stage, making up an excuse saying he got into a fight with a tiger."

Nick just nodded his head, not to just make Kevin feel good about his joke, but because he knew it was entirely true.

The three boys finally made it to Miley's front door. Kevin was about to knock when Billy Ray swung the door open. "Well if it isn't the JoBros!" he exclaimed.

"Come on in boys!" he smiled, while gesturing for them to come into the house. They did as they were told. Well, at least Nick and Kevin did. Joe on the other hand was hugging Billy Ray like there was no tomorrow. "Oh Billy Ray! I've missed you so much!" he exclaimed still latching on to the poor man. "Son, if you don't let go of me in the next 3 seconds, your not going to be able to walk on the stage today." Billy Ray threatened.

"He already can't" Nick muttered under his breath.

Kevin and Nick started to crack up when Joe sent them a death glare. "He's just kidding" Joe smiled as he started to walk away from Billy Ray, "he totally loves me"

At that moment, Miley walked down the stairs and into the living room with her blonde wig on and all. "Hey guys!" she greeted them while making her way towards them, "Hey Miley" the three said at the same time.

"Pathetic" Jackson muttered under his breath at the kitchen table, while spooning Cheerios into his mouth. "Look who's talking!" Miley shot back. Jackson observed himself, "touché"

Miley rolled her eyes, "You guys ready?"

They all nodded, well except Joe who was sulking on the couch. "Great! Let's go"

The four kids walked out of the house and into the limo with Billy Ray trailing right behind them.

* * *

_I know what you like  
I know what you think  
Not afraid to stare you down until you blink, it's  
Everything I see  
Every part of me  
Gonna get what I deserve  
I got nerve_

Hannah's voice echoed throughout the fair, fans were screaming at the top of their lungs and camera flashes were going off like crazy. "THANK YOU!" she screamed into the microphone while skipping off the stage, her band right behind her.

They were at the fundraiser for diabetes. Tons of stars had showed up to help support the cause. As Hannah walked off the stage, Taylor Swift walked on. They threw each other a smile and Hannah wished her a good luck before she walked on in front of tons of people.

"Great job darlin'" Billy Ray complimented his daughter as he indulged her in a hug. "Why don't you roam the fair for a little while, maybe with the boys. Just…please take Big Rob and not run off with Nick like last time!" he grimaced.

Miley blushed, ah gooood times. "Of course Daddy" she smiled innocently.

Billy Ray saw right past that little angelic look on her face, but let her go anyways. "I'll see you in an hour" he sighed and with that he walked off. Miley looked around the backstage area, searching for the boys. She saw Jesse McCartney working on his vocals with his guitar player, Boys Like Girls lead singer and drummer talking to Fergie and then she finally spotted the boys with Big Rob near the water cooler.

"Calling all losers!" Miley as Hannah shouted.

Joe immediately looked up, but then winced, "DANGET! I fall for it _every_ time!" he cursed himself.

Kevin burst out into laughter, "No surprise there"

Miley ran over to the three boys and Big Rob, "Did you lose weight Big Rob?" Miley eyed him skeptically.

"You noticed!" he exclaimed, "unlike someone!" he squinted his eyes, glaring at Nick. He lowered his head shamefully; "Listen, 5 pounds isn't exactly a miracle!" he tried to defend himself, but just earned a smack on the back of his head from Joe.

"Roller coasters?" Kevin asked.

Miley's eyes lit up, Joe started bouncing on his toes, Nick stopped rubbing the back of his head and smiled, and Big Rob just nodded his head, "I guess we could go. But, we all have to stick together!" he exclaimed while eyeing Miley and Nick. They both blushed, while remembering the last time they snuck away from Big Rob.

The four of them boarded the rollercoaster happily. Nick with Miley in front, Kevin and Joe behind them and Aly & AJ behind the two brothers. That was a little sticky situation for Joe so Nick and Miley switched seats with Kevin and Joe so now they were in the front.

Once the 1 minute ride came to a stop, the four walked off all wobbily and dazed. "Best. Ride. Ever." Joe stated.

Miley went to high five Joe, but completely missed and smacked Kevin's forehead. "Ow!" he moaned. "Oops. Sorry!" she giggled. She was a little bit dizzy from the ride. Nick placed his hands on her waist, attempting to steady her. "I think you need to sit" he laughed, "and I think you need an ice pack!" he said referring to Kevin who's forehead was bright red now. Kevin just muttered something about sarcasm, ice packs and jelly beans. Yeah, I think he was a little dazed too.

Nick and Miley sat down on a bench while Big Rob and Joe got snow cones from a vender across from them. "Wanna make a run for it?" Nick asked hopefully.

Miley's eyes lit up, "Yes! Ok listen, last time when we played Charles Angels you got to be Alex but I want to be her! You can be Natalie this time"

"Darnet" Nick sighed.

They both laughed and were about to get up and walk off into the sea of people when two teenage girls walked up to them.

"Can you _please_ sign this?!" the strawberry blonde asked, waving a poster of Hannah and the Jonas Brothers out in front of her. Nick smiled, "Sure"

A hint of jealousy crept up on Miley and was just about to bite when the other brunette asked her to take a picture with her. The jealousy of the other girl was forgotten and Miley…or should I say "Hannah" took a picture with the girl. Both doing a cute pose, as if they had been best friends for forever. Miley always liked to do that; she didn't consider her fans as well fans. She considered them more as friends because they were there with her from the beginning.

"Thank you" the two gushed and then headed over to Joe who was still with Big Rob at the snow cone machine.

"Now?" Miley asked.

"Now." Nick confirmed as he grabbed her hand and the two disappeared in the sea of people.


	3. I'm Only Me When I'm With You

_Friday night beneath the stars,  
in a field behind your yard,  
you and I are paintin' pictures in the sky.  
And sometimes we don't say a thing;  
just listen to the crickets sing.  
Everything I need is right here by my side.  
And I know everything about you  
I don't wanna live without you._

Miley sighed as she watched Nick climb down the vine and hop to the solid ground, "Hey" he smiled as the two began to walk towards the warehouse.

"What did your parents say?" Miley asked.

Nick just rolled his eyes, "My Mom said that if I ever do that again, she's taking away my guitar for a whole week…sorry Miles, but I can _not_ live without that thing!" he exclaimed.

Miley giggled, "Trust me, you got the good end of the stick" she moaned. Nick reached over and started to play with a lock of Miley's hair as Miley tried to explain, except that was hard to do with the distractions. "Well Daddy said that if I did that again, I'd be getting a second body guard….like Roxy isn't enough…and…" Miley tried to continue, but Nick was now drawing circles on her forearm.

Miley couldn't take it anymore, she grabbed Nick's hand and started pulling him towards the warehouse. "A little controlling are we?" Nick joked while lacing his fingers with hers. "A little distracting are we?" Miley mimicked him.

The two shared a laugh. Miley was the first one to crawl through the broken window that was what they used an entrance, followed by Nick. Once Nick's feet hit the ground, Miley practically slammed him against the wall. Miley's lips started attacking his jaw line causing Nick's breath to hitch. "Holy crap" was all he could mutter before he connected their lips. Nick's hand made its way down to Miley's waist, pulling her closer to him, their lips still moving together. Miley snaked her arms around Nick's neck to pull his head closer. Any closer and they would bump heads or something. Nick began to draw circles on Miley's back causing her eyes to roll back. The two finally broke away from the kiss, out of breath. "Where did that come from!?" Nick asked, trying to regain his composure. Miley took a deep breath in, "I've been trying to do that all day! But, Joe just _had _to show me his new dance move, then Frankie just _had_ to show me his new magic trick then Kevin just _had_ to tell me what new guitar he was getting then Big Rob just _had_-" Nick cut her off with a kiss.

"Yeah, I've been waiting for that" Miley smiled.

Miley spread out the baby blue, baby soft, blanket on the ground that she brought from her own home while Nick dumped the food he brought out of the Stop & Shop bag they were in. "Whatcha got?" Miley asked.

Nick smirked, "I brought, orange slices, strawberries and carrots"

Miley's mouth practically dropped to the cold floor, "b-but we never, we never bring anything without sugar! I always have to eat those things during the day! This is the only time I can have sugar, without my Daddy spazzing out on me"

Nick continued to smirk, "this is pay back for the sugar free marshmallows last night"

Miley grimaced, "Yeah, but I suffered with you and plus, you're not supposed to have too much sugar, unlike me who practically RUNS off of sugar…"

Nick shrugged, "Oh well…" while running his hands through his curly locks and pretending to stretch, causing his shirt to ride up a little and expose a small section of his stomach

Miley glared at him, "Nick Jonas, you play dirty"

About 20 minutes later, Miley and Nick had collapsed onto the ground, full. "Dang. I never knew carrots could taste so amazing!" Miley exclaimed, while rubbing her stomach for dramatic effect.

"Why yes Ms. Miley. We have these rare type of bunnies in our backyard that analyze the carrots, just for you" Nick smirked.

She just stuck her tongue out at him playfully, "I feel so special" she rolled her eyes.

* * *

Streams of light made their way through Miley's shades, landing on her sleeping figure. She awoke to her alarm going off. Miley grumbled and hit the snooze button on the alarm clock.

"Breakfast is ready darling!" she heard her father yell from the floor below, "better get down here before Jackson uses up both of the syrup bottles like last time"

She could just picture her father glaring at Jackson at that exact moment.

"Hey, what can I say? I like my syrup" was the last thing she heard before glasses clinking and the sound of a fork scraping against a plate were made.

Miley sat up, letting her legs dangle off the side of the bed and scratched her head. 6:45 AM the clock read.

School … perfect.

* * *

Miley and Lily slammed their lockers shut in unison, then linked arms and walked down the hallways of Sea View High. "Why can you never sleepover?" Lily moaned. Miley shrugged, "you know my Dad. So strict with his rules and such."

Lily rolled her eyes, while unlinking her arm from Miley's and turning to face her. They had just arrived outside the doors of Biology. "Mr. S loves me. I have no idea what you're talking about … it just seems like every time I bring up having a sleepover you get this dreamy look in your eyes and you start to –" Lily stopped abruptly, a light bulb going off in her head.

"Miley Ray Stewart!" she exclaimed while playfully hitting her best friend's arm.

"Ow!" Miley exclaimed, even though it didn't actually hurt, automatic reaction, "What!?" she asked.

"I should have known Nick had something to do with this" Lily exclaimed while connecting the palm of her hand with her forehead, cursing herself.

Miley's eyes widened, "Oh my gosh, Lily! It's not like that!"

Lily squinted her eyes; "It better not be" was all she said before walking into Biology.

Miley took a deep breath before walking through the door and into the classroom.

"Hey Miley!" Oliver exclaimed, waving his friend over to his desk.

"What?" she mouthed, while taking her seat.

Oliver picked up a piece of paper off his desk and raised it into the air, trying to show Miley.

'B-' it read.

Miley smiled approvingly and gave him a thumbs up. That boy was lucky he had her and Lily around helping him with his grades, well mostly Lily in the Biology department. Her; not so much.

* * *

_Sometimes I wish  
I had a kung fu grip.  
Never let her slip,  
Away. She'd be my girl._

Really wish she knew  
What I feel is true.  
She'd be my darlin  
I would be her hero too

Nick sang, as he strummed away on his guitar. "Awesome!" Kevin exclaimed while applauding his younger brother.

"Thanks" Nick smiled shyly.

"That's total album worthy" Kevin smiled while getting up from his seat on Joe's bed across from Nick's.

"No!" Nick exclaimed.

Kevin knitted his eyebrows together in confusion, "Huh?"

"I mean, no." Nick said with much less force, "I-I don't want to put it on the album. It's too … "he tried to search for a word.

"Miley?" Kevin offered.

Nick just nodded his head in agreement, "Hey, whatever you want man. But, can I just give you a little advice?" Kevin asked Nick as he made his way towards the door.

"What's that?" Nick asked as he stroked his favorite guitar, "Play it for her"

Kevin smiled brightly as he disappeared down the hallway. Nick was about to say something back when Joe came bouncing into the room.

"I got a date, yes I do. I got a date, how bout you?" Joe sang merrily as he pulled open the drawers to his dresser, and rummaged through the wooden piece of furniture.

"I'm guessing you have a date?" Nick laughed.

"How'd you know!?" Joe asked in astonishment. Nick just rolled his eyes, "With who?"

"You remember Selena Gomez, right?" Joe asked as he held up a blue button down shirt up to his chest, examining himself in the full length mirror.

"Uh huh" Nick replied, clearly not interested.

"Well…her!" Joe exclaimed as he tossed the shirt on his bed and looked for a different one.

"Wow, tough luck" Nick muttered.

"What do you mean? She's awesome!" Joe exclaimed.

"No" Nick stated, "I meant for her" and with that, a pillow collided with the side of his head.

* * *

**Want me to continue? Any suggestions? Anything you don't like? Tell me in your review. Remember, this is total Niley. No Nelena. Or is there? Hmm...you'll just have to wait and see, that is if you want me to continue.**

**xxEmilyKearsexx**


	4. The Little Things

_The little things, you do to me are  
Taking me over, I wanna show ya  
Everything inside of me  
Like a nervous heart that, is crazy beating_

"Ew, hate the dress"

"Hate the hair color"

"Ok what was she thinking?"

"Those shoes are ridiculous!"

Lily had completely trashed almost everyone in the magazine when she finally threw the object down onto Miley's bed and collapsed to the ground.

"Making fun of people is tiring" she exclaimed as she grabbed a pillow off of Miley's bed and threw it onto the floor so she could lie down on it.

Miley rolled her eyes, "Alright, which is cuter, this dress…or this one?" She asked while she held up a silver, sequined mini dress and a red, flowy dress that tightened right below the chest then flew out.

Lily squinted her eyes, trying to analyze the two dresses. "Well where are you going?"

Miley sighed, "Hannah's going on a double date with Nick, Joe and Selena" Lily's eyes widened, "Selena Gomez!? Ohmygosh! Can I come?? I've wanted to meet her forever! And…the last time you saw her you said I couldn't come because you actually liked her. Yeah, I still remember you said that, don't think I forgot!" Lily exclaimed.

Miley giggled, "Silver or red Lily?"

"Silver" Lily huffed as she crossed her arms over her chest.

* * *

"How did I get dragged into this again?" Nick asked as he tied the tie that was dangling around his collar.

"Because you love your older brother" Joe stated while pretending to smooth invisible dust off his jacket.

_  
But hold your breath  
Because tonight will be the night that I will fall for you  
Over again  
Don't make me change my mind  
Or I won't live to see another day  
I swear it's true  
Because a girl like you is impossible to find_

Nick's phone began to go off, signaling he had a call. He raced over to his cell phone that was resting on his nightstand, still plugged into the charger. He quickly unplugged it then flipped it open. "Miley!" he exclaimed into the phone, already knowing it was her.

"Nooo…Lily!!" Lily exclaimed on the other line.

Nick's excitement died quickly, "Oh. Hey Lils" he greeted with much less enthusiasm. "Way to make a girl feel special" she rolled her eyes.

"Sorry" he laughed, "Where's Miley?"

Lily sighed, "In the Hannah Closet. Putting on her Hannah clothes and Hannah shoes. Fixing her Hannah hair, finding her Hannah jacket and looking for her Hannah cell phone … which I have" she replied dully.

"Hmm…just a wild guess here, but could she be getting into her Hannah entire?" Nick joked.

Lily giggled, "Shut up. Anyways, the reason I called is…well actually I wanted to talk to Joe. But, he wasn't picking up his cell phone. Is he there?"

Nick nodded, but then quickly remembered she couldn't see him. "Yeah, hold on a sec"

Lily heard some shuffling and a muffled, "pick up the phone before I show Selena the pictures of you drooling on the tour bus!" come from Nick. Lily remembered that, good times.

Joe had fallen asleep on the couch during a Hannah Montana and Jonas Brothers concert and Nick had ended up taking pictures of him and posting them on the staff bulletin board the next morning. Joe didn't exactly think it was as funny as Nick, Kevin, Miley and Lily did.

"Hello?" Joe exclaimed, sounding out of breath. "Got a hot date?" Lily asked, trying to hide her laughter from him, but it clearly wasn't working.

"I don't drool anymore Lils" Joe sighed.

"Psh, that's what you think" Lily exclaimed, "When do you see me sleeping!?" Joe gasped into the phone.

Lily just rolled her eyes, "that's not the reason why I called…I'm coming over in 5 to see what you're wearing." _Click… _the line went dead before Joe had time to protest.

* * *

The date was going rather smoothly if Miley could say so herself. They had arrived at the restaurant 45 minutes ago and were currently chowing down on their dinners. She ordered a pasta while Nick ordered a steak. It was great; sure. But, all Miley wanted right now was McDonalds. She was sick of eating all these healthy things…she wanted fatty foods and fast.

Nick felt his phone start to vibrate, he pulled it out of his dress pants and flipped open the screen to look at the message. He secretly read it under the table…

**From: Miles **

**Once we get out of here, we're heading to McDonalds! Badum bum bada bummm I'm lovin it :) **

Nick smiled and texted her back immediately. It was so cute how she would text these things to him even though they were sitting right next to each other. It was the little things she did, which he loved the most. Like the way she would run her hands through his curls and scratch his head, or how she would always be kind to people, even if she hated them. Heck, for all he could know...she hated Selena right now. She always did have a way of hiding things.

While Nick texted he could hear Joe and Selena's conversation in the background…

"No I'm serious! Ninjas are way cooler than pirates" Joe exclaimed.

Selena rolled her eyes, "How can you say that? Pirates have the swords, the treasure AND … the eye patches. I mean, come on! Who can resist the eye patches?"

Joe sighed in frustration, "I can! Ninjas have the cool moves, the cool black clothes and they're all so secretive. Like I could be talking to you right now and they could be listening and we wouldn't even know it!" Joe said while he cut his chicken into little pieces.

"True" Selena agreed, "But, I still vote pirates."

Miley jumped, she hated when she had to keep her phone on vibrate. It always scared the living daylights out of her.

**From: Nicky**

**Hopefully these two don't get married or something…or else they'll be fighting about who knows what at their wedding…yeah we're so screwed…**

Miley giggled, Selena turned to face her, noticing her laugh. "So Hannah, I hear you have a new CD coming out soon…"

'Hannah' nodded, "Yeah, we're still in the recording process though so it probably won't be out for a little while."

Selena smiled, "You should hang out with my friend Demi sometime…you two seem as if you have a lot in common…"

Hannah just smiled graciously, "Sounds great!"

What was Selena talking about? All she said was she was coming out with a CD soon…how does that make her and Demi have a thousand things in common? What is _she_coming out with a CD and still in the recording stage too? Oh wow! They have sooo much in common.

Selena's phone started to ring, "Oh that's Demi now! I gotta take this! Sorry, she's been on tour so this is big that she's calling me…be right back." She smiled then hurried off to a secluded part of the restaurant.

"She seems nice" Miley smiled while pushing her plate away from her, signaling that she was full.

Joe nodded, "Yeah…" he said in a distant tone.

"What's up?" Nick asked, noticing his change in mood.

"I don't know." Joe sighed, "She's an awesome girl…but I just don't think we have that much in common…Like she doesn't know that much about me. I want to be friends before all that. I want to know everything about her and have her know everything about me…" Joe placed his fork on the table.

Miley realized what he was talking about. He had once rushed into a relationship with another singer named AJ Michalka. Great girl, just not right for Joe. They went right into dating before even learning that much about each other. In the end, Joe ended up with a broken heart and a confused view of love.

Miley knitted her eyebrows together, an idea forming in her mind.

* * *

Joe invited Selena back to the house to watch a movie with them. Miley was about to decline since she had a term paper due soon, but she really wanted to see if the plan forming in her head was going to work, or if she should just forget about it.

Nick took Miley back to her house so she could change into some comfy clothing. Still Hannah, she wore her 'hair' in braids, white shorts and a matching white zippy with a pink tank top on underneath that had a peace sign on it, jazzed up with pink jewels.

"Ready?" Nick asked while knocking on Miley's bathroom door. "Yup" Miley answered as she stepped out of the bathroom. She smiled sweetly at him and placed a gentle kiss on his cheek. Nick looked at her skeptically, "What are you planning?" he asked suspiciously. Miley's eyes widened for a second, thinking she had gotten busted, but quickly regained her composure. "What are you talking about Nicky?" she asked innocently.

He gave her the 'Oh come on!" look. Miley sighed, "Ok. You know how Joe was talking about how he wanted to have a friendship first?"

Nick nodded, while the two walked down the stairs, into the Stewart's living room and then out the door. "Well, he's known this _certain_ _girl_ for while and they're practically best friends. Him and that _certain girl _know everything about each other. Down to their favorite type of skateboard and all. She's blond, a blue eyed beauty and has the same interests as him, this _certain girl_ I mean does."

Nick had a confused look on his face, clearly not catching on as the couple walked along the sidewalk, making their way towards the Jonas' residence. She was practically throwing him clues here!

"Lilly!" she exclaimed.

Nick made an 'O' shape with his mouth. Miley rolled her eyes, finally!

"You want them to get together? But, they don't like each other like that..." Nick said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

Miley smiled deviously, "No they do. They just haven't realized it yet"

* * *

Joe and Selena sat on the couch, watching the movie intently. Nick and 'Hannah' cuddled under the blanket on the floor. Miley kept sneaking glances at the door every 2 seconds. Finally, the door bell rang...

About 7 times!

"I'll get it!" Miley exclaimed, shooting up from her spot on the ground and running towards the door.

She swung the door open, revealing a disheveled looking Lily. "Where is he!?" she exclaimed, "Is he ok? Is he hurt? Did he go into a coma!?"

Miley rested her hands on Lily's shoulders, trying to calm her down. "Lils. Everything's fine. I'm sorry I scared you in the text message. What I meant was...wanna watch a movie?" Miley asked, smiling brightly.

Lily's jaw practically fell to the ground, "How do you get 'Wanna watch a movie?' from 'Lily come over ASAP! Joe needs you! He's in a pickle! Come now!!' ??"

Miley blushed, "Sorry...I _may_ have overexaggerated a little"

"Ya think!?" Lily exclaimed.

She then looked behind Miley to see Joe and Selena sitting on the couch. She couldn't believe she was actually going to be watching a movie with Selena Gomez! But, all of the sudden this burning sensation started in her stomach. What the heck?

Was she jealous? But, of what?

"Hey guys. Lily decided to come over and watch with us" Miley smiled.

"Oh hi!" Selena smiled, "Hey! I remember you! I saw you at Hannah's birthday party. No ... wait. That was your friend Lola right?" Selena was starting to get confused, Miley felt like helping her out.

"That was her sister!" Miley chirped in.

Selena smiled approvingly.

Lily felt an urge to sit in between Joe and Selena on the couch, but she resisted.

"Ooh! Benchwarmers!?" Lily exclaimed while falling backwards into the armchair, next to the couch.

"Yeah!" Joe smiled, "Best movie ever..."

"I haven't seen it before" Selena commented.

"You've never seen this before!?" Joe and Lily exclaimed in unison.

Nick and Miley smiled approvingly at each other; just as they expected.

"You haven't lived!" Joe added.

Selena giggled, "Good thing I'm watching it then!"

There was an awkward silence, they soon returned to watching the movie.

"Oh I love this part!" Lily sighed, while stuffing some popcorn into her face.

Selena looked at it longingly, "Oh my gosh! I'm so rude!" she exclaimed while passing her the bowl of popcorn, "Want some?"

"Oh um. Thanks but I can't. I'm on a diet for an upcoming movie. But, if I wasn't I'd be chowing down right this second" she laughed.

Lily giggled too, "If I were you. I'd be eating like crazy right now. I mean, if I had to do a movie and they didn't want to take me the way I was then I'd say 'Screw them!' cause I'm not changing for anyone.." and with that Lily turned her direction back towards the TV.

Joe smiled at Lily. She always knew the right thing to say ...

Miley snuggled closer to Nick, "I think it's working" he murmered into her hair, then placed a sweet kiss on her head.

She nodded into his chest, "Me too" she yawned.

"I love you" he whispered.

Miley didn't hear it though. At least she thought she hadn't...she thought she was dreaming because she always imagined him saying that. But, he never did.

She fell into a peaceful slumber, dreaming of Nick. As always...

_"I love you" _rang through her ears.

* * *

**Sorry I haven't updated in a while. But, I made this chapter extra long to try and make up the lost time :) Enjoy! But, please review! I wanna hear some feedback!**

**xxEmilyKearsexx**


	5. Wonderwall

**So I wrote this immediately after I saw all the reviews. I had an itch to write. This story is so much fun to write! So keep on reviewing people :)**

* * *

_And all the roads we have to walk along are winding  
And all the lights that lead us there are blinding  
There are many things that I would  
Like to say to you  
I don't know how_

Miley opened her eyes and found herself at the old warehouse, next to Nick. "Nick?" she whispered, rubbing her eyes and sitting up on the cold, hard ground.

He just smiled at her. "You have the cutest snore" he laughed, Miley blushed. "I don't remember coming here"

Nick smiled, "Joe drove us. I told him that he could never come back, cause I could see that he was about to suggest having a party here or something…"

Miley giggled, "Only Joe would turn a romantic spot into some lame party scene"

Nick sighed. "What's wrong?" Miley asked concerned.

"Nothing" he stated.

Miley wasn't buying it. "Nicholas…you are a terrible liar"

"I'm really that bad?" he laughed.

Miley nodded enthusiastically. "Hey! At least I can look at you and lie. Every time you try and get away with something, you end up looking at the clouds."

"Not always!" Miley protested.

Nick rolled his eyes, "Or the ceiling, when we're inside"

Miley glared at him, "Come on Nick! You can tell me. You should know this by now…or I have been doing a terrible job training you!"

"Training?" Nick laughed.

"Oh just answer the question boy!" Miley exclaimed, while playfully hitting Nick's arm.

"What did you dream about … ? When you were sleeping before, that is" Nick asked, out of the blue.

Miley knitted her eyebrows together, why would he ask such a thing?

"Of you. Like always" she answered, smiling brightly at him.

Nick just stared at her intently, "Did … " he paused, "What did I say to you in your dream?"

She was beginning to feel a little freaked out, was she still dreaming? Why was Nick asking her these questions? Yeah, she's asleep. There's no way she's awake right now. Wakey, wakey Miley!

She finally tuned back into reality, Nick must have been talking to her. "Miley? Miley? Did I say anything … important to you in your dream?"

Miley could feel the droplets of sweat beginning to form on her forehead. Her breath caught in her throat and she had the urge to look away from him. She felt as if he could see right into her. Usually she was so guarded. She didn't like having anyone pass the boundaries. It felt…different.

Unfamiliar.

She just nodded. That's all she could do.

"Well, what'd I say?" Nick asked, beginning to become a tad impatient. He needed to know if he heard her. She needed to hear it.

"You…said…I-uhh" Miley couldn't say it. She was too embarrassed, he'd laugh or do something!

"N-nothing important" Miley lied. She began to look up at the ceiling, but caught herself; hoping he didn't see.

"You're lying" he stated.

Miley sighed, "I hate that you know me so well."

Nick smirked, but then the smirk turned into a small, gentle smile. He placed the palms of his hands on her shoulders and stared straight into her eyes. His smoldering, deep brown orbs conquering the piercing ocean blue. "What did I say Miles?" he asked softly. It was barely audible.

Miley was lost in his gaze, "You said you loved me" she said. But, it sounded distant, like it wasn't coming from her own mouth. He did that to her sometimes; made her feel so good, that it just felt all too unreal.

Nick leaned in slowly and pressed his lips upon hers. He slowly pulled back and whispered, "Don't you love it when dreams turn into reality?" Miley could feel his breath on her neck. She couldn't resist, she slid her arm around his neck and pulled him into a breathless kiss, breaking apart for only a moment to whisper, "I love you too"

* * *

Selena and Joe had been seeing a lot of each other lately. So had Nick and Miley. But, when were they ever apart? Seriously, they were practically attached at the hip.

Lily sighed as she glided down the sidewalk on her skateboard. She had just gotten a text from Oliver asking her to meet him at the skate park. She had nothing else to do, so why not?

She was just passing the Jonas' and Andersons' houses when she heard someone call her name, "Lily! Wait up!"

She came to halt, then kicked the back of her skateboard, which flew into the air and tucked it under her arm.

"Hey Joe" she smiled.

"Hey" he said out of breath.

She burst out into laughter, not even bothering to keep it in. "You seriously need to work out"

Joe glared at her as he tried to consume as much oxygen as possible, "I don't have all the time in the world to go to the gym everyday like Ms. Lillian here and still look hot…I have no idea how you do it"

Lily's eyes widened, did he just call her hot?

Oh boy, this was not helping the weird feelings she had been getting earlier about him. Best friends are not supposed to feel that way about each other.

Joe was obviously oblivious to what he had just said, "So, the reason I stopped you was because…we're having a concert in town tonight. You know, just cause we wanted to have one even though we're on break. Want to come?"

Lily had to think about this, of course she wanted to go, but what if Selena was there? Selena was a pretty nice girl. They had a chance to talk after Nick and Miley left and Joe went to bring Miley and Nick somewhere.

But, if Selena was there…Lily wouldn't be able to handle it. There was just this pain that struck her in the gut every time she saw her. Lily just couldn't figure out what it was. Why she was feeling this way…

So she didn't quite understand why she answered the way she did.

"I'd love to come Joe"

* * *

Miley, Lily, and Oliver walked to the ice cream shop that afternoon talking about endless nothings. Lily and Oliver wanted to cool off after the skate park so they called Miley to ask if she wanted to join them. She happily accepted the offer. The three stood in front of the counter, looking at the selection and trying to choose what they wanted.

"I'll have a mint chocolate chip cone, she'll have a chocolate milkshake and she'll have coffee oreo in a cup." Oliver ordered.

They had been coming to this old ice cream shop since they were ten and always ordered the same thing. But, they still looked at the selection because well…they were girls. They never "knew" what they wanted…

"So, anything new ladies?" Oliver asked, as all three sat down at a table next to the window. "Oh that reminds me! I'm going to the Jonas' concert tonight. Joe invited me. You comin'?" Lily asked Miley.

Miley giggled, "Why did he invite you? You _always_ go. You don't need an invitation!"

Lily knitted her eyebrows together; confused. That _was_ true. She always went, so then why did Joe personally invite her?

"Anyways, I have bigger news!" Oliver gloated. "Oh, really?" Miley asked.

"Uh huh" Oliver nodded, "Becca Weller and I are officially…" he paused for dramatic effect, "together…" he added, trying to sound all cool.

Lily and Miley looked at each other for a brief moment, then began cracking up. "What's so funny?" Oliver asked, glaring at the two.

"Ollie." Miley stated, trying to regain her compsure, "You and Becca are always…" she paused, "together!"

"Yeah, one minute you're together, the next you're not. I swear you two have been going on and off for about a year now!" Lily added.

"Mhmm" Miley added as she spooned some of her coffee oreo ice cream into her mouth.

"Humph" Oliver huffed as he licked his mint chocolate chip ice cream.

* * *

Miley as Hannah walked over to Nick and wrapped him in a bear hug. "Good luck" she whispered as the two pulled apart. "Thanks" he smiled as he pecked her cheek and then walked out into the hallway.

Miley turned around to find Selena waiting nervously, on the couch in their dressing room. The two decided to watch from there on the TV.

"Nervous?" Miley giggled.

Selena put on a small smile, "Just a little" she giggled.

Miley walked over towards the couch and sat next to her. "Don't be. They always do great…and even if Joe falls, which he usually does, they still love him anyways"

Selena laughed, bowed her head, than tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear. "I'm not really nervous about that…"

"Then, what are you nervous about?" Miley asked; confused.

"Do you think Kevin's a nice guy?" Selena asked, looking up at Miley.

Miley was shocked, Selena wasn't thinking what Miley was thinking…

Was she?

"Yeah, he's actually a really nice guy. Totally awesome."

"Hannah…what do you like so much about Nick?"

Hold up. She thought Selena was talking about Kevin. Now Nick? She's not moving in on her man now? Is she?

"Uh, lots of things I guess. I mean, like the way his curly locks fall in his face when he's playing guitar and how he's always writing songs about serious topics. Like you should really hear some of the things he writes and plays. They put all that other stuff on their CDs. It's nothing compared to what he and they write in their spare time. It's amazing!" Miley was getting lost in her thoughts and day dreams now.

"So…you don't just use him for the publicity, right?" Selena asked hesitantly.

Miley was shocked, "Of course not! I would never do that to him! I love him too much to do that…!"

Selena looked taken aback, "You love him?"

Miley's breath got caught in her throat. Had she just said that out loud?

"Uh...yeah, yeah I do."

"Hannah, I have something to tell you…Promise you will keep it a secret?" Selena asked. Miley saw something in her eyes, sincerity. This was serious. She really meant it.

"Scout's honor" Miley copied, Demi Lovato's line from 'Camp Rock'.

Selena laughed softly, but then became serious.

"I don't like Joe."

Miley mentally rolled her eyes; she knew that was coming…

"I like Kevin…"

She also knew that was coming…

"But I sort of like Nick too…"

Ok…she had no clue _that_ was coming!

* * *

**Sorry...I just _had_ to do it! The more reviews I get, the quicker the next chapter comes out! :) **

**xxEmilyKearsexx**


	6. Your Anything

_I could be your favorite blue jeans  
with the holes in the knees in the bottom of the top drawer  
I could be your little beauty queen  
Just a little out of reach  
Or the girl livin' next door  
I'll be your angel givin' up her wings  
If that's what you need  
I'd give everything to be your anything  
Be your anything_

There was silence. Complete silence. Which seemed to go one for hours.

Millions of questions were racing through Miley's head. She likes him? But, what about Kevin? She can't have both! What am I saying!? She can't have Nick! No way, not while _I'm_ with him!

She was just about to open her mouth to speak when Lily as Lola came bursting through the door. "I'm sorry I'm late!" She exclaimed, out of breath. "But, my Mom had a little trouble with the blow dryer and then I had to feed the cat and then…let's just say the cat is never going to go near electric plugs and blow dryers again!"

Miley would usually laugh, but she had too much on her mind, "Excuse me" she finally said and ran out of the room into the long hallway that led to the stage.

"Wow tough crowd!" Lola muttered.

"It wasn't anything you said.." Selena sighed.

Lily knew Selena was bad news! "What did you say to her!?" she exclaimed.

She took a few steps closer to Selena, but kept just enough space between them so no one was passing personal space, "Mi-Hannah is rarely upset! You would have had to done something pretty terrible if she had gotten upset about it!"

Selena eyed widened, wow she hadn't known Hannah cared so deeply about Nick.

"I-I didn't mean any harm Lola! I just, ugh! I'm so confused right now!" she cried, collapsing onto the couch.

Lily didn't want to be mean to the girl, but her best friend needed her right now and Selena was the least of her problems. "If you need someone to talk to call your friend Demi, but right now! My best friend needs me" Lola ran out of the room, her purple wig sticking to her cheeks.

* * *

Miley discarded her Hannah wigs and talked Big Rob into allowing her to sit front row. She didn't want to have to worry about Hannah's troubles right now. All she wanted to do was be Miley. But, mostly she just wanted to be something to Nick. If Selena took him and Nick was happy, that's all that mattered. She just wanted to be something to him, _anything_. His girlfriend, his best friend, or even just his neighbor. Anything.

Miley watched as Joe brought out two stools to the center stage and the spotlights landed on Nick and Joe while Kevin stayed of on the sidelines, strumming a few chords.

Nick leaned forward into the microphone and began speaking, "How many of you out there…are in love?"

A million screams erupted from the crowd, nearly deafening Miley. She could see Joe smiling at something backstage, but thought nothing of it. "Well then, this one's for you" Nick stated, staring straight into Miley's eyes. He must have been tipped off by Big Rob when they had been given a water break. Darn Big Rob and his protectiveness!

_Hello beautiful  
How's it going?  
I hear it's wonderful in California  
I've been missing you,  
its true,  
But, tonight I'm gonna fly  
Yeah tonight I'm gonna fly  
Cause I could go across the world see everything and never be satisfied _

_If I couldn't see those eyes_

She couldn't take it any longer. Selena would win; she knew it. She pushed passed people, earning snarls and "heys!" from the love struck teenage girls front row, holding up signs asking the brothers to marry them. Miley couldn't get out of there faster. "Excuse me!" she exclaimed, now practically running. She ran out of the doors, entering the lobby area where vendors were set up selling food for the hungry fans and Jonas Brothers' merchandise. She then ran out of the arena doors and onto the street.

_Buzz Buzz_

Her phone began to vibrate; she didn't bother checking to see who it was. She already knew it was Lily.

_Buzz Buzz_

Ok, she would answer it once and tell Lily she was fine, then go home. She flipped open her phone and was surprised to find Oliver calling.

"Oliver?" she asked, trying to choke back the tears that were starting to form in her eyes.

"Hey Miley…" he whispered.

"What's going on?" she asked, he knew she was supposed to be at a concert so why was he calling?

"Um, Lily called…she found out what happened with Selena. Well, not technically. All she found out was that she said something that hurt you, a lot. And…I'm worried Miles. What's wrong?"

A tear slid down Miley's face, but she quickly wiped it away realizing what was going on.

She was being an over dramatic teenager girl…

"Nothing Oliver. I'm fine, you don't have to call and check up on me"

"Where are you?" he asked more forcefully this time.

"On the corner of 5th and 6th. Why?" Miley asked, while bending down to sit on the curb.

"I'm coming to get you"

* * *

Lily was standing off on the sidelines backstage. Watching the boys perform. She looked out into the audience and found Miley sitting front row. However, Joe caught her attention when he smiled at her. She blushed and tried to look away. It was a weird feeling, blushing that is for Lily. She rarely did it. She tried to make the color go away by fanning her self with her hands. When she looked up, Miley was gone.

She had no idea where she went, so she trudged back to the dressing room. Selena was still there, but standing in front of the mirror. "I shouldn't have said anything" she stated. She must have heard "Lola" walk in.

"Well, what did you say?" Lola asked, taking a seat on the brown leather couch in the corner of the room.

Selena sighed, "I told her I had a crush on Nick, it's nothing serious though! It's just one of those things where you think their cute and really sweet!"

Lola's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets, "SELENA!" she exclaimed.

Selena nearly jumped back a mile, "What!?" she exclaimed, while resting her right hand over her heart.

"Hannah loves Nick!"

Selena bowed her head, "I shouldn't have said anything" she repeated.

Lola rolled her eyes, "Well…what are you going to do now?"

Selena looked up, "What do you mean?"

Lola sprung up from the couch and walked over towards the mirror, where Selena was. "You fix it" she stated plainly.

"How do I do that?" Selena asked, "I mean I can't just stop this little crush on Nick…and then there's Kevin who I really like a lot…"

Lola raised her hand in front of Selena's face, signaling her to shut up. "Hold up! You like Kev too!?"

Selena blushed, "I'm terrible, I know"

Lola sighed, "You'll find a way to fix it. But, just realize that M-Hannah has feelings here too. Really strong feelings, and if you don't talk to her soon, she's gonna crack. Trust me, I've known her for a while." Lola said then started to make her way for the door.

Selena nodded, "Thanks"

Lola turned around once she got to the door frame, "for what?"

"For being so nice to me, for…understanding. Why are you being so nice to me?" Selena half-smiled.

Lola smiled back, "I know how you feel. You're confused and questioning your feelings…I know its tough, but you'll figure it out soon."

Lily then realized, right then and there…she liked Joe Jonas. More than a friendly way, more than a sibling-loving way, more than any way she had ever felt before.

* * *

"Miley, Selena isn't going to steal Nick from you" Oliver rolled his eyes.

The two had been talking for about 20 minutes now, Oliver had come on his skateboard and the two were now walking back to Miley's house.

"I know I should think that and I know I'm acting really stupid right now for questioning it, but…Oliver, we've never dated anyone else but each other. What if he discovers there are better girls out there? Better then me? Selena is totally nice, she's pretty and seems to have an awesome personality." Miley kicked a rock that was on the sidewalk in front of her.

Oliver sighed frustratingly, "Miley! You have all that and more! You seriously need to work on your confidence issues. You're beautiful, ok? You're smile blinds people when they walk by because its 100 percent non fake. You're personality shines brighter then your smile. Your voice is gorgeous and overall, you're amazing!"

Miley had tears in her eyes, it touched her by how highly Oliver spoke of her.

"Thanks Ollie. That helped, a lot" they both leaned in for a hug, embracing in a friendly way.

_Buzz Buzz _

"Oops" Miley laughed, "I better get that" she stated as she reached into her pocket and pulled out her phone.

Miley's eyes widened, "Who is it?" Oliver asked casually.

"Selena"

* * *

**EEEP! I was soo excited when I saw all the reviews, I woke up the other morning and 'BAM!' there they all were. It was like waking up on Christmas morning to find a trillion presents waiting for me under the tree. So school started for me...MONDAY! Yeah, we start early. Ew...I know, right? Well I actually think I update more with school going on. I get home and then I write a chapter. Simple as that. I just have all this time to think about what I'm going to write during school, instead of just sitting in front of the computer and HAVING to think of something. It just comes so much more easily without the computer mocking me and saying 'Write! Write something! They're waiting!' Aha, you can see I have a weird mind. But, oh well. Review and the chapters will come quicker. Trust me, they help A LOT with the writing process :)**

**xxEmilyKearsexx**


	7. It's Only Life

_Don't look away  
Don't run away  
Hey baby it's only life  
Don't lose your faith  
Don't run away  
Hey baby it's only life  
Yea it's only life_

"Hi Selena" Miley answered, "Sorry for running out before"

"Hannah!" Selena exclaimed into the phone, "Why the heck are you apologizing? I should be the one doing the dirty work. Ok, before you say anything…let me just get this out in the open. I'm stupid. I should have kept this to myself.."

"Selena! If you had kept this to yourself, it would have just become worse" Miley interrupted her.

"I know, I know. But, I sat myself done a few moments ago and really thought. Like really thought. And…I realized that even if I do like Nick…it doesn't matter cause I don't stand a chance."

"What are you—" Miley started.

"He would never choose me over you. Hannah, you're great. You have to know that. You've been nothing but kind to me ever since I joined this Hollywood business and I'm supposed to repay you by taking away one of your most treasured things? That's not cool and I made a promise to myself that when I went into the acting bizz that I would never do anything to hurt anyone like I saw in all the magazines. So, I just wanted to let you know that…I respect you and Nick's relationship and I'm sorry for even thinking that I could have him for one moment…" Selena explained.

Miley smiled, "Thanks Selena. You don't know how much that means to me. Friends?"

Selena sighed in relief, "Friends"

Oliver gave Miley a questioning look because all he could hear was Miley's side of the conversation; she nodded her head telling him everything was fine.

"Oh by the way…" Selena giggled, "Someone has been looking for you here at the concert. I think it's time you come back and save Nick from having a 3rd heart attack"

Miley laughed, "I think it's time I come back too"

* * *

Selena hung up the phone and ran her hand through her silky locks, Hannah was on her way back to the concert and everything was fine between them. But, why did something still feel wrong…?

At that exact moment, Joe and Kevin walked into the room. "No seriously, ninjas are better than pirates!" Joe exclaimed.

Kevin rolled his eyes then took a seat on the brown leather couch, while Joe walked over towards the vanity and took a seat in a 'director's type of chair'. "You've got to be kidding me…pirates win any day, hands down"

Selena's eyes brightened, she knew her instincts were right.

* * *

Nick couldn't figure out where Miley had left to. Did she not like the song? She had always said it was beautifully written, but shouldn't be wasted on her. That girl and her imagination…

"Miley!" he exclaimed as he saw her walk into the hallway with Big Rob in tow. "Wait…Miley? Where's Hannah?" Nick questioned. Miley's hands flew to the top of her head. "CRAP!" she exclaimed then ran for the closet that was located on the left side of the hallway. Nick chased after her, scurrying into the closet and locking the door behind him.

It was pitch dark. "Miley?" he whispered, he tried to feel his way around, "Miley?" he tried again.

"Ow!" she exclaimed. "Woops, sorry Miles" he blushed after lifting his foot off of hers.

"Why are we in this closet?" he asked, trying to stifle a laugh.

"I changed in here before, Nick there's some bobby pins on the shelf behind you; I think. Could you grab them for me?" Miley asked.

Nick turned around and tried to find the shelf, his hands finally found their way to a wooden source. "Got it!" he whispered.

He then turned around and handed them to her. "Thanks"

Miley took the bobby pins from his hands and then start applying them to her wig to hold it steady. "Where'd you go?" Nick asked.

"Uh…" Yes! He didn't know anything. Nothing, nada, zilch. That meant they didn't have to have a serious talk or anything. Miley hated those kinds of talks. Where people always tried to compliment her and tell her she was wrong or something; it just made her feel uncomfortable. "Bathroom" she stated, "Yeah, I uh had a…makeup problem! Yup, and … Big Rob stood outside the bathroom waiting for me!" Yeah, sure let's go with that. That works, right?

"Oh. I guess I didn't think to check there" Nick shrugged.

Yup, it worked.

Miley was finally done putting her wig back on and reached for the doorknob. It was time to face Selena in person. Nick put his hand on top of hers to stop her. "Wait…" he stated, then began to stroke her arm, "I haven't gotten to do this all night" he then moved his hand up her arm, over her collarbone and cradled her cheek. Nick planted his lips on hers firmly, while she melted right into him.

Why had she ever doubted him?

* * *

'Hannah' and Nick walked into the dressing room to find Selena and Kevin talking with each other, something about ninjas and pirates? Joe playing 'Halo' on the PS2 and Lily as 'Lola' chatting away on the phone, probably with Oliver talking about the previous events.

Selena looked over towards the doorway, catching Miley's eyes. They both smiled at each other, a sign of peace.

Nick took Hannah's hand and led her over towards Joe. He then sat down next to him and took the 2nd controller while Miley made her escape over towards Lola. "Pretty crazy night, huh?" Lily giggled as she hung up the phone. "I never knew I could experience so many emotions all within 2 hours!" Hannah exclaimed

"NEW HIGH SCORE!" Joe shouted as he threw his controller down onto the carpet. "BEAT THAT NICKY!"

Nick rolled his eyes, "Joe, you realize I let you win, right?"

Miley rolled her eyes, Nick was such the competitor. They'd be playing Manhunt with the neighborhood kids and he'd _have _to win. They usually played just to let loose and get rid of stress, but _no _Nick always had to make it a completion.

Joe made a funny face at Nick then glided over towards Miley and Lily. "So ladies…" Joe smiled, "I see Kevin took my role with Selena."

It looked as if Joe was upset, but Miley knew deep down he was doing a happy dance. "Guess you didn't make the cut" Lola shrugged her shoulders.

"Ouch Lola, that hurt" Joe winced. Lola giggled, "Hey, I just speak the truth"

"Oh you just speak the truth, huh?" Joe asked tauntingly as he approached Lola. "Joe? J-Joe? Don't even think about it! I know what you're planning on doing, but it's not gonna work cause I am –" Joe tackled Lola to the ground and started tickling her fiercely.

"JOE!" Lola exclaimed, laughing on the ground. Joe was hovering above her, his fingers dancing across her skin. "I'm-I'm serious!" Lola managed to get out between giggles. She was now gasping for air.

"Boys?" everyone turned their heads toward the door except Joe and Lola who acted as if nothing had interrupted them.

"JOE! STOP!" Lola giggled as Joe began to make his way under her chin where he knew she would flip.

Big Rob cleared his throat in the doorway, but they still ignored him. So, he shrugged his shoulders and continued, "There's a visitor here. I think you guys might want to see."

He stepped aside giving them a full view.

"JOE! If you don't stop in—" Lola stopped mid sentence, her eyes growing wide, her throat becoming dry, the words not being able to fall off her tongue. Time stopped right then and there for her.

Joe noticed her lack of movement, "Lola. Did I like kill you or something? I mean, usually by now you'd be beating me up with a pillow or…something!"

Lola continued to stare at the doorway. Joe squinted his eyes trying to figure out what caused the sudden change of emotion in the room. He slowly turned around and was met with a pair of electric blue eyes.

"Hey Joe" the girl smiled from the doorway, brushing the hew stray hairs out of her face.

"Hey AJ" he replied dully.

* * *

**I love reviews. I love you guys! I can always count on you for amazing and inspiring ones, they help me keep going. Which is why I'm rewarding you with another chapter! IN THE SAME FREAKIN DAY!! WOO!! **

**xxEmilyKearsexx**


	8. Bottom of the Ocean

_It's been in the past for a while  
I get a flash and I smile  
Am I crazy  
Still miss you, baby  
It was real  
It was right  
But it burned too hot to survive  
All that's left is,  
All these ashes_

Joe had no idea on what to do. He wanted to strangle this girl for breaking his heart, but at the same time run up and kiss her. "So, great show guys" she smiled.

"Guys, could you excuse us please?" Joe asked, with no emotion being shown on his features. Lola knitted her eyebrows together, what was Joe doing? This girl broke his heart, why is he even talking to her?

"Yeah, sure" Lola answered for all of them as AJ stepped into the room and out of the doorway so the five of them could pass. Lola stopped at the doorway and turned to look at Joe. She gave him a weak smile, which he returned.

She then stepped out of the room, closing the door behind her. But, Joe knew they were listening. All of them, even Selena. She had now been recruited into the group, which means all rules of snooping imply.

"Why are you here?" Joe asked, standing up from his position on the floor. AJ took a few steps forward, leaving still plenty of room between them.

"I just wanted to check up on you guys. I've been reading a few articles and it seems like you guys have got it going for you right now." AJ softly smiled.

Joe nodded, "Yeah, that's because we have a great group of _friends _and people who love us who stand by our side, helping us along the way."

AJ winced, "I didn't come here to talk about the past Joe."

"Then what's the real reason you came AJ? 'Cause I'm dieing to know!"

AJ bowed her head, "I missed you guys, ok?" she mumbled.

Joe couldn't quite make it out, "Huh?"

AJ lifted her head and looked him dead in the eye, "I missed you guys! You … mostly. I missed your lame jokes, your crazy dance moves, that gorgeous brown hair, seeing your face light up when you were given a new tambourine, watching you perform, borrowing your hair straighter, the list goes on." AJ sighed.

Joe didn't look fazed at all, "I thought you said you hadn't come here to talk about the past."

AJ laughed softly, "And your incredible come backs. Those I missed too"

Joe didn't smile, he didn't laugh, however his heart was tearing apart again. But, thankfully she couldn't see.

"AJ. It's over, ok? I'm done with you and the past. I've moved on. Just go home, ok?" Joe sighed, taking a seat on the couch.

AJ shook her head, "I promised myself that I wouldn't leave until we sorted everything out."

"You want to sort things out now? What happened to the AJ I knew where she'd say 'I got a tour coming up and I think its best if we go our separate ways…you know, just in case.'" Joe snapped.

AJ rolled her eyes, "I'm different now! I don't just leave constantly. We're recording a new CD and we won't be going on tour for a while! We can see each other again. It will be just like old times!" she smiled.

Joe shook his head, "Oh yeah AJ? Well, what's gonna happen after the CD's released and they want a tour. Huh? What's gonna happen then?"

"We'll figure something out…" she answered in a less confident voice.

Joe burst into laughter, "Wow. Déjà vu! Funny, I thought you said that last time. Look where that got us…"

AJ sighed and took a seat next to him on the couch. "I loved you Joe."

"Yeah, I loved you too" Joe lifted himself off the couch and glided towards the door, he turned around once more, "But, you broke my heart". He then grabbed the doorknob with his hand, turned it and opened the door. 5 bodies fell upon each other onto the ground.

"Ow!" Kevin exclaimed, "Who is that?"

"Crap. I knew I should have worn converse and not heels!" Selena cursed.

"Ok, who is sitting on my leg!?" Miley exclaimed.

"Sorry…" Nick blushed.

Joe looked down at them, his eyes now glassy.

"Show's over guys. Time to go home." He muttered, then exited the room.

AJ sat motionless on the couch, watching as Joe walked away.

Lola sprung up from the floor, "Why'd you come back!?"

AJ's mouth began to open, but nothing came out.

"Why'd you have to come back!?" Lola screamed again, "Everything was fine until now! The pain was finally starting to fade away, he was...he was finding love again"

Lola ran out the doorway. The room was silent. AJ cradled her head in her hands, "Why can't things just go back to the way they used to be?" she whispered.

Selena stood awkwardly by the doorway, she didn't know anything about their history and yet, it was playing out right in front of her. "Things change. People change." Selena whispered, looking off into the distance.

Miley sent her a confusing look, what the heck was this girl talking about?

* * *

Miley watched the digital clock next to her bed change from 11:59 to midnight. She hopped off her bed, grabbed her backpack that was resting next to her dresser and skipped towards the window.

By the time she had made it to Nick's house it was 12:05, she began throwing rocks at his window.

The window opened, "Miley?" Joe rubbed his eyes, then squinted them trying to make is vision clearer. "Sorry Joe!" she gasped, "Just uh, just go back to bed. Forget this eveeerrr happened" Miley exclaimed.

Joe didn't respond, he just went back inside. Nick soon hopped out of the window and climbed down the window and the two were off.

* * *

"So, how's Joe?" Miley asked as she dumped the contents of her backpack out onto the blanket set up.

"He's…" Nick started, "Ugh, Miley we don't know what to do. Mom has been baking cookies, offering him a day off to go to Six Flags with the family and he still won't leave his room. Dad's been talking to Big Rob about maybe, taking the door off the hinge so we could keep an eye on him, but that doesn't work for me! Kevin and I, the whole family is worried. Even Frankie has noticed a change in Joe."

Nick took an apple slice out of the container and took a bit out of it, "You see what AJ does to him? It was like this when she was around, he was either hyped up and happy or miserable and always hiding in his room. He was destroying himself over her."

Miley nodded, "maybe, maybe he doesn't have to go through that again. And…maybe I know a way we can get him out of his room."

Nick knitted his eyebrows together, "We've tried everything Miles. Trust me, nothing is going to work."

Miley smiled reassuringly, "Oh trust me. I'm 100 percent sure this _will_"

* * *

**I know it's short, sorry! But, I'll make the next chapter longer. Trust me! I'm shooting for like a 6 pager :) So what's your opinion on this chapter? I really wanna know! If your lucky I'll have another chapter up by tomorrow!**

**xxEmilyKearsexx**


	9. Sick Inside

__

And now I'm sick inside  
Yeah, it makes me wanna cry  
I'm so sorry about last night  
Yeah, It happened so fast  
I wanted it to last  
In the moment it felt so right  
But now I'm sick inside

Lily knocked on the door.

Silence.

"Joe, let me in" she tried. No response.

"You know, I know where you hide the key so you can either let me in, or I can just let myself –"

The door opened to reveal a disheveled looking Joe. His hair was that kind of 'just rolled out of bed' look you always tried for but could never get, his eyes were darker then usual, he had bags hanging underneath them and he was still wearing the same clothes he had been wearing the night of the concert and that had been 3 days ago!

"Joe" Lily whined when she saw him, "You look like crap"

He didn't show any emotion and it didn't even seem as if he heard her, he just walked right back over to his bed and collapsed onto the covers, continuing to stare up at the blank ceiling.

"Why do you do this to yourself?" Lily asked him.

No response…again.

'_Figures'_ Lily thought to herself. "Alright, that's it. Joe, you're getting out of this room and out of this house. Let's go."

Joe sat there, motionless, blinking once and a while.

Lily rolled her eyes. He wasn't going to win this fight, not if she was involved. Joe just groaned and turned over on his side now facing the wall.

"Hmm, well then. I guess I'm just gonna have to go and see _Coldplay_ in concert by myself. You know, first row seats, backstage passes."

Joe was up out of the bed and looking for a jacket in his closet.

"Oh well, guess I'll just have to take Oliver who doesn't appreciate their music like others…"

Joe was slipping on his converse.

"Just us two. Alone, almost as if it were a date…" Lily continued.

"Let's go" Joe finally said, linking their arms and heading out of the room.

Told you she would win.

* * *

Oliver, Miley, Nick and Selena were down by the beach getting drinks from Rico's. Jackson was working that day. "What can I get ya toots?" Jackson winked at Selena. She looked taken aback. "Yeah, I know. You get used to it…" Miley answered casually, while taking a sip of her banana-strawberry smoothie.

Miley had told Selena about her secret identity a few days ago, after the Joe and AJ incident, it just seemed appropriate to tell her. She had promised to keep it a secret, but she wanted to know why she had chosen to take a secret identity. They ended up having a sleepover because the story took so long to tell. Miley would know…

They talked for hours about endless nothings, watched 'John Tucker Must Die' and rated how hot he really was and looked through thousands of magazines, admitting who their celebrity crushes were. Once Selena had fallen asleep around 1 am, Miley snuck out to meet Nick.

"Hey, where's Kevin?" Oliver asked.

"Uh, golfing with my Dad or something? I don't know, they said something about not being able to 'bond' lately." Nick answered, adding air quotes around 'bond'.

Oliver nodded, but quickly fell out of his chair when he heard a gasp. "Oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no!" Miley exclaimed, shooting up from her chair and crouching down to hide behind Nick. "What's the matter!?" he exclaimed.

"Nick. Be quiet! He'll hear us!"

Selena looked over towards the tables and saw a blond-haired boy surrounded by tons of girls.

"Crap!" she cursed, jumping off her stool and running behind Oliver.

"What is up with you two!?" Oliver exclaimed.

"That's my ex!" Miley and Selena exclaimed at the same time.

"Wait! You dated Jake Ryan?" Miley asked, her head now resting on the back of Nick's shoulder.

"Wow, we seriously need to start like checking in on each other just to see who the other person likes. First Ni- I mean, wow what a small world" Selena slipped up.

"What are you two talking about?" Nick asked, turning in his chair to face Miley.

She winced, "Thanks Sel…thanks"

"Sorry" Selena mouthed.

"Ok, well-" Miley started.

"Miley?" Someone called.

She looked over Nick's shoulder and found the blond haired, green-eyed beauty walking over to the group of friends. He stopped in front of the group, smiling like crazy. "Wow! You look great I haven't seen you around in a while" he looked over towards his left to find a girl hiding behind Oliver. "Uh, hey Jake" Miley answered meekly.

"Who's that behind Oliver?" he asked.

"Pshh, there's no one behind me!" Oliver lied, terribly might I add. "Just me and my smoothie here. You should get one, they're great today!"

Jake looked at him skeptically, but shrugged it off. "So Miley, what have you been up to lately? I just got back from filming in Mexico yesterday. I'm in town for a week, wanna hang sometime soon?" Jake's eyes looked hopeful.

Miley almost felt bad, "I'm actually seeing someone Jake. Have been for a while. It's sort of, serious…"

Jake knitted his eyebrows together, "Who-"

"Me" Nick piped in, sliding his arm around Miley's waist, pulling her closer to him. Almost as if to say, back off buddy.

"Oh Nick! Didn't see you there buddy!" Jake smiled. It almost looked forced…

"Achoo!" came a sneeze from behind Oliver. "Bless you" Oliver whispered. "Need a napkin?" Oliver asked, taking one off the counter, "I mean! There's no one behind me! Just talking to myself, you know me…the freak!" Oliver tried, but he finally gave up figuring he wasn't exactly convincing anyone anyways.

"Selena?" Jake gaped.

"Hi" she sniffled. She then blew her nose into the tissue and blushed.

There was an awkward silence.

Too bad Joe wasn't there, it would be the perfect timing for him to deliver his famous line "awkward…" but Miley knew he was in good hands.

* * *

"Did you see his face!?" Selena exclaimed, between giggles.

Miley giggled along with her, "I know! I should've had my camera!"

Oliver's Mom had called earlier telling him that if he didn't get home in 5 minutes she'd throw his skateboard in the washer, that lady honestly scared Miley.

Or was it a man…? Who knew?

Now Miley, Nick & Selena were walking back to Miley's house to get some lunch.

_I wanna get back, to the old days,  
When the phone would ring,  
And I knew it was you. _

Selena's phone rang, she groaned. "It's Demi…" but she didn't reach into her pocket to answer, oddly enough.

_I wanna talk back,  
And get yelled at  
Fight for nothing, like we used to._

"Uh, You gonna get that?" Nick asked.

Selena shook her head, "we had a little…disagreement, a few days ago. I haven't been talking to her since then"

Miley thought about it, maybe that's what Selena meant when she had said, _"Things change. People change"_

The ringing finally stopped and a low beep played, telling Selena she had a missed call.

"I think I'm just gonna go home. I'm not really that hungry. But, I had a great time today guys. Thanks!" She smiled brightly, but it looked too forced. There was more to it then just a fight and Miley was going to get to the bottom of it.

* * *

"That...was...awesome!" Joe exclaimed as they exited the arena. Joe had honestly enjoyed the concert and being with Lily just made it ten times better. He didn't know how, but she just made everything better. She knew him so well, that she even took his phone away to avoid any calls, from _anyone_. It was a Lily and Joe bonding day, nothing was gonna get in the way.

Joe's phone vibrated in Lily's skinny jeans pocket, Joe just kept rambling on and on about how awesome the concert was while Lily checked the phone.

**From: 815-4573**

**We rlly need 2 talk J. I no I messed up, but I'm guna make it up 2 u. Just w8 and c**

**xxAJ**

Joe must have deleted AJ's phone number since her name didn't show up in the contacts.

Smart move.

Lily scowled at the text, the nerve of this girl. She quickly deleted the message and stuffed it back into her pocket, directing her attention back to Joe.

"You know what the best part of the concert was?" Joe asked, stopping on the sidewalk to look at Lily.

"What?" Lily asked.

"I got to see it with you" he smiled, lacing their hands together.

Lily blushed, "Double chocolate chip crème blends at Starbucks?"

Joe smiled brightly, "What else do I have to do?"

The two walked down the sidewalk, hand in hand.

That was the start for them and the end for AJ and Joe. At least, that's what Joe thought. But, AJ had something else planned for the agenda.

* * *

Nick collapsed onto the Stewarts' couch in the living room next to Robby Ray. "Who's playing?" he asked, stuffing a hand full of chips that were poured into a bowl on the coffee table out in front of him into his mouth.

"Stealers vs. Patriots. It's a big day Nicholas, a big day!" Robby Ray exclaimed sipping some of his Diet Coke.

Miley smiled at the two from the kitchen island. In the beginning of Miley and Nick's relationship, Robby Ray laid it down hard on Nick. Not really letting up on him. He wanted the best for his baby girl and that meant 4 months of pure torture for Nick. But, once Robby Ray saw that Nick was really committed to Miley, he let up and the two became closer. Sometimes Miley would have to drag Nick out of the house when a football game was playing and Robby Ray had a pizza in the oven cooking.

Nick slid his shoes off his feet and stretched on the couch, "Looks like I might be here for a while"

* * *

Selena's fingers glided across her cell phones keys quickly. She sat on the curb, right outside her house. Miley and Nick had left an hour ago and she was still outside debating on calling Demi or not.

Her thumb landed on the 'send' button and before she had anytime to think she pressed down on it. It rang a few times before she picked up.

"Hello?" she answered.

"Hey Demi" Selena replied weakly.

"Selena" she responded coldly.

"I thought about what you said and I just can't do it. She's too nice. I'm friends with them now, and-and I'm done with this whole thing of yours."

Demi scowled on the other line, "Selena, it's not that hard. Just get closer with them and once you find out a secret about Hannah, we'll spill it. We'll look like the good girls in Hollywood and she'll be the new Britney Spears"

Selena sighed, "Demi, don't you think you're taking this a little too, far?"

"I know it's harsh. But, Selena! They're just getting more and more famous everyday while we're still the 'newcomers'. I wanna be more then that Lena! I wanna have what they have. I'm just finally taking action, that's all" Demi ordered into the phone.

"I can't do it Dem. I'm sorry. It's not worth it, I'm content on where I am now." Selena sighed.

"Fine then. I didn't want it to come to this, but looks like I'll just have to do it."

* * *

**Ha! And all of you thought the drama was over...Ok, I reallyyy didn't want to have Demi be a mean character, but I don't exactly know what I'm gonna do with her at this point. Make her turn fantastically nice? Keep being a meanie bo beanie...or...well I haven't exactly come up with a third option yet. But, just you wait! I will...in time! So, my lovely readers. What did you think? Honest opinion! Oh and just asking a favor here...could maybe you give me a serious response like what you thought instead of things like 'Awesome. Update soon!' I love them! But, you don't need to tell me to update soon cause don't worry...I will :) Thank you!!**

**xxEmilyKearsexx**


	10. Cold As You

_Oh what a shame, what a rainy ending give to a perfect day  
__Just walk away, ain't no use defending words that you will never say  
__And now that I'm sitting here thinking it thinking it through  
__I've never been anywhere cold as you_

Lily's eyes fluttered open to be met with a darkness surrounding her. She could make out a figure lying down next to her, but barely anything else. The digital clock resting next to the bed flashed 2 am. Lily began to rise from the cushioning piece of furniture, when an arm wrapped around her tightened and pulled her closer to them. She immediately got a whiff of a certain musk she was beginning to fall in love with.

"Joe?" she whispered into his room, he just groaned and tightened his grip on her even more. She giggled, but snuggled closer to him, "Joe?" she tried again.

His eyelids began to rise, revealing the beautiful chocolate orbs that made her stomach flip. "Whoa!" he immediately sprung up from his bed, looking around the room frantically, "How did we end up this way?"

Lily thought for a moment, "We must have fallen asleep after playing 20 questions" she then looked over at Nick's bed expecting to see him there, "Hey, where's Nick?"

"He's probably using the bathroom or getting a glass of water" Joe answered quickly. "Yeah, but his bed is still made, it looks like it hasn't even been touched or-"

"Will your Mom be worried that your not home yet?" Joe cut her off, trying to change the subject. "Na" Lily answered, smiling back at him then lying back down on the bed.

"I'm with you, right?"

* * *

Nick and Miley sat on the blanket, facing each other, just talking. "You can not possibly know _everything_ about me Nick!" Miley giggled.

Nick rolled his eyes, "Try me" he challenged.

"Ok" she replied, cracking her knuckles, trying to "intimidate" him…or whatever it was she was trying to do. "Favorite book?"

"Don't Die, My Love"

"Favorite rock music!"

"Coldplay and The Killers" Nick stated, "Come on Miles, at least try to give me _one_ hard question!"

"Fine" Miley sighed, "Why do you love me?"

Nick sucked in his breath, "Miles. That's not a question about you…"

"You only said a 'hard question' in my opinion, which is because I have no clue why you love _me, _Miley Stewart. Some average teenage girl."

Nick rolled his eyes, "Miley, you annoy me to death sometimes."

"What do you mean?" Miley asked, a hint of hurt running through her voice.

"You never see yourself clearly. I love you Miley, that's all there is to it. I love your smile, I love your eyes, I love how whenever you walk by I can catch a whiff of your vanilla-scented shampoo. I love how when you're alone, you talk to yourself."

Miley was about to interrupt, but Nick stopped her before she could do anything, "I catch you doing it sometimes..." he laughed.

"I love how you're not really into the whole party scene, even when you're as Hannah you leave the party early. Also how you can never find a hiding spot during 'Manhunt' and how you always end up hiding with me, when you're disgusted and scrunch your nose up and how you play with my hair whenever you're bored. I love you and that's all there is to it. But, you have to stop doubting yourself Miley. I'm always going to be here, I'll always be around"

Miley's eyes had become glassy by this time, she climbed into Nick's lap and he began stroking her hair. "I love you and your perfection" she whispered, snuggling up to him.

"I'm no more perfect then you are" he whispered softly into her ear, causing goose bumps to form on her neck.

"Impossible"

* * *

Kevin and Selena sat on the swing set, out in the Jonas' backyard. "Um, Selena…don't you think we're a little too old for this?" Kevin laughed.

"You're never too old to have fun!" Selena giggled, as she began to pump her legs.

Kevin laughed and shook his head, "You found Joe's energy bars, didn't you?"

Selena smiled deviously, "No…"

She then burst into laughter along with Kevin, she jumped off her swing and landed on the grassy area in front of her, Kevin ran over and fell back next to her. Soon the laughter died down and the two were left staring at the clouds.

"You're fun to be around. Not too crazy like Joe, not too quiet like Nick. You're great…" Selena smiled.

Kevin turned his head now looking at her. Was it ok if he like a girl 4 years younger than him? That wasn't illegal or anything…was it? Oh god.

"You're fun to be around too" he smiled back. Selena kept looking at the sky when the clearing of a throat awoke her from her daydream.

Selena and Kevin both looked up, "Demi" Selena gasped.

xx

"What are you doing here!?" Selena exclaimed, dragging Demi into the Jonas' bathroom.

She had told Kevin that it was urgent and they needed their privacy. He said he'd be with Frankie and his Mom in the kitchen if she needed him.

Demi walked over to the bath tub and sat on the edge, smiling up at Selena who was looking seriously pissed off.

"Lena, you should know me better than this by now. I always come through on my word" Demi smiled.

Selena rolled her eyes, "Demi, we're done ok? This isn't a game! This is their lives we're dealing with! We can't just walk around screwing them up!"

Demi rolled her eyes, "We're not screwing them up…" she paused, then a devious smile beagn to grow on her face, "we're just, readjusting them...that's all"

Selena sighed frustratingly, "There is no 'we'. They're my friends and I'm not helping you!"

Demi stood up from the bathtub and glared at her, "So that's that then? I thought we were best friends. Help each other through the thick and thin, yeah that would be right about now? Why are you sticking up for them? You barely know them!"

Selena glared right on back, "I know more that you think and I've known them for about a good 2 weeks and that's all I need. They're amazing friends, better then you've ever been!"

Demi slightly gasped, but she then pushed past Selena and made her way to the door, "I guess we know whose side you're on now, huh Lena? Have a nice time with these people. Enjoy it while you can…"

The door blew open and Demi stepped out, slamming it behind her. Selena blew out a sigh of relief.

Something was telling her this wasn't the last of Demi…

* * *

"Cookies!" Joe exclaimed, running into the kitchen; breathing in the smell of sugar and chocolate. Mrs. Jonas chucked, "Yes Joseph, cookies. But, they're not for you. They're for our guests." She then nodded her head over to Selena who was walking out of the bathroom.

"Oh and what am I?" Lily asked offended.

Mrs. Jonas smiled, "Lily, in this household you were never considered a guest, always a family member."

Lily smiled thankfully at Mrs. Jonas.

"Yeah, I always considered you my second Mom, right after uh, well you know…" Lily bowed her head, signifying that she didn't really want to discuss anything about Miley's problems at the moment.

"Uh, so where's Nick and Miley?" Kevin asked, trying to change the subject. "Yeah!" Selena added, taking a cookie off the plate that was sitting upon the kitchen island, "I haven't seen them since yesterday…"

At that exact moment Nick and Miley walked through the front door laughing their heads off. "So then Big Rob ended up in the trash can with Joe tied up in the rope. It was priceless!" Nick exclaimed in between laughs. Miley was practically crying she was laughing so hard.

Joe blushed, "I would've gotten out of it two if it weren't for _someone_ skating by on her skateboard, pushing me into Big Rob!" Joe shouted over towards them while glaring at Lily.

"Hey! How was I supposed to know backstage didn't allow skateboards?" Lily tried to defend herself.

"Where were you two?" Mrs. Jonas asked, taking a seat on a stool next to Kevin. "We decided to take a walk on the beach" Miley answered casually. The two of them had become pros at this whole lying thing. They didn't even feel guilty about it anymore.

Nick and Miley walked through the living room and into the kitchen, holding hands. Nick immediately spotted the cookies and was about to dive in when Mrs. Jonas stopped him. "Those are for the guest Nicholas!"

Nick looked around the room confused, "We're having people over tonight?" he asked.

"No" Mrs. Jonas shook her head, "Their for Selena"

"Denise! I am offended! What am I, chop liver!?" Miley exclaimed, placing her hand over her heart for dramatic effect.

Mrs. Jonas rolled her eyes, "Oh miss Miley, you know you were always like a daughter to me…" Lily was about to cut in, but Mrs. Jonas continued, "Both of you!"

"Um, thank you for the kind gesture Mrs. Jonas, but do you really expect me to eat _all_ of these cookies?" Selena asked, gaping at the pile of cookies, there must have been a few dozen of them.

"Hmm…I guess I do go overboard with the amount of them sometimes, don't I?" Mrs. Jonas giggled.

"No!" Joe interrupted, "Don't worry Mom. Keep doing what you're doing, we'll take care of the cookies" he smiled brightly, licking his lips as he stared longingly at the choclately cookies.

In 10 minutes top the plate was empty and all seven teenagers were lying down on either on the couches, chairs, or floor.

Oliver had joined them in almost record time when Lily texted him, telling him there were cookies.

"I don't think I can move" Joe groaned as he attempted to sit up, but reluctantly fell back down, "I don't think I can eat another bite" Nick moaned as he lay across the couch.

"I don't think I can even look at another cookie again!" Selena exclaimed.

"Who wants more?" Mrs. Jonas called from the kitchen.

"I do!" Oliver exclaimed, running into the kitchen. He turned around to look at the pathetic group of kids for a second, "Psh, amateurs" he rolled his eyes before diving in for more.

"Where do you think it all goes?" Kevin asked incredibly.

"Probably where everything else does…" Miley answered, still holding her stomach, "His head, since there's nothing else up there"

* * *

'Hannah' was in the recording studio that evening, recording a track for her new album. School had been actually nice that day, Amber and Ashley had thankfully come down with the chicken pox at the same time.

Hallelujah.

"Hannah, let's try that one last time and then we'll take a break" Robby Ray spoke into the microphone, from the other side of the glass window.

Miley nodded her head. The instrumentals began to blast out of her headphones.

_This is the life! Hold on tight!  
And this is the dream  
It's all I need!  
You never know where you'll find it  
And I'm gonna take my time, yeah  
I'm still getting it right  
This is the Life_

The instrumentals immediately stopped, telling Miley it was time for break. She walked out of the booth to earn a pat on the back from her 'manager'. "Great job darlin'" he congratulated her, "Take 10"

Miley walked over to her bag and pulled out her phone to look at her messages.

'_2 New Text Messages' _it read.

She clicked on the first one.

**From: Jake**

**Hey! Just wanted 2 c what ur up 2! :) I rlly wanted 2 meet up b4 I left. Think it cud b done?**

Miley looked at the text with disgust, never in a million years. She then clicked on the second one.

**From: 745-8765**

**U have to have a secret Hannah. And im guna find out. Don't worry, I will. **

**Xx your friend, D**

Miley stared motionless at her phone. D…D…D? Who the heck was this person?

* * *

**AHH! I love you guys! The reviews were so nice to read! You people are amazing readers :) Thank you so much! So, upcoming things, you haven't seen the last of AJ or Jake. As for Demi...watch out Miles and Sel. They're might be trouble coming your way. Who knows? It's so secret, I don't even know! :0**

**xxEmilyKearsexx**


	11. Change

_And it's a sad picture  
The final blow hits you  
Somebody else gets  
What you wanted again  
You know it's all the same  
Another time and place  
Repeating history  
And you're getting sick of it_

"Oken! The definition of 'Frightened'" Mr. Correlli ordered from the front of the classroom, he sat on the edge of his desk overlooking the classroom.

That's exactly how Miley felt right now, frightened. After the warehouse with Nick, she stayed up all night, tossing and turning in her bed; trying to figure out who would want to spill her secret. Even Nick had noticed something was up with her that night, luckily he put it to the back of his mind and they enjoyed the rest of the night together, jamming out to old Billy Ray songs.

"Thrown into a fright; afraid; scared; terrified" Oliver listed off from his desk, right behind Miley. "Ding, ding, ding! We have a winner!" Mr. Correlli exclaimed, jumping off the desk and walking through the isles now. "Weller! Give an example"

'_Frightened because you're being stalked by some crazy person'_ Miley thought to herself.

"A frightened child cowering in the corner." Becca smiled up at Mr. Correlli.

"Excellent work BW!" Mr. Correlli congratulated her, walking back up to the front of the classroom.

"Truscott! Definition of 'Trouble'" Mr. Correlli exclaimed.

Was he _trying_ to mock her or something?

* * *

Joe walked into his house with a smile plastered across his face. It seemed as if the more time he spent with Lily the more he liked her. Every moment he wasn't with her, he wanted to know where she was, what she was doing. She was now like a drug to him. He had become addicted, fast.

"Morning honey" Mrs. Jonas greeted him as she walked down the stairs, "Morning Mom" Joe smiled back to her, planting a kiss on her cheek once she made it to the bottom of the stairs.

She smiled at him, "How was your morning jog?"

"Great!" Joe was beaming, "Lily met me half way and we went for a walk on the beach after. But, then she had to go to school so I ran back here."

Mrs. Jonas watched as Joe's eyes lit up at the mention of Lily. She had always liked her…

"That's great! I was just about to go and meet your Dad and uncle at Starbucks to discuss the matters of the upcoming tour. Usually, I would make you and your brothers come, but then who would watch Frankie?" She asked hopefully.

Joe sighed, "I'm not getting out of this one am I?" Joe asked his mother as she walked towards the coat closet, to fetch her rain coat.

"Nope" she smiled brightly, "It's supposed to rain later, by the way. So, don't make any plans for outdoor activities. Oh and please try and not break anything while I'm gone. I don't enjoy coming home to find my kitchen looking like a zoo" She requested while turning the knob and opening the door.

"That was a one time thing!" he called after her.

Once he heard the car pull out of the driveway he immediately ran up the stairs screaming "FRANKSTER!!"

Frankie popped his head out of his room, "What is it Joseph? I am in the middle of a very serious meeting?"

Joe knitted his eyebrows together, walking towards Frankie's room. He looked through the doorway to find a small table set up, surrounded by 4 chairs; 3 of them seating a stuffed animal giraffe, elephant and bulldog.

He had to stifle a laugh, "Oh and what is this meeting about?"

"That is for me and my clients to know…and…stop being such a nosy brother!" Frankie exclaimed, slamming the door in Joe's face. Joe smiled, than pressed his ear up against the door. He heard some shuffling come from the other side of wooden barrier then Frankie's voice, "So back to what we were talking about before we were so rudely interrupted! Mr. Long-neck you will be sleeping with me tonight and Mr. Long-Nose and Mr. Wrinkly-Face will be sleeping with me Wednesday and Tuesday."

Joe laughed as he walked away from the door frame and into his and Nick's bedroom. "Hey Joe" AJ smiled from where she was sitting on top of Joe's bed.

Joe stopped mid-step. "AJ? What are you doing here?"

"I told you I'd find a way to make it up to" She stated.

Joe walked into his bedroom confused, he took a seat on Nick's bed, across from AJ. He wanted there to be space between them; _plenty_ of space.

"Why do you keep coming back?" Joe sighed in exasperation, now cradling his head in his hands.

AJ squinted his eyes, "Isn't it obvious? I love you! I haven't been the same since the beginning of tour. Everything was fine in the beginning of it all. Aly and I, we were writing songs, performing, having fun. But then after a week in I started to feel it. The loneliness, the desperation, incomplete; and only you could fix that. So, once the tour was over, I decided that I would come back to see you. But, Aly stopped me, trying to convince me to just forget and try and move on. I agreed, but nothing worked. I tried dating that skater, you know…Ryan Sheckler? He was cool, but nothing like you. I missed you so much that it was starting to become unbearable…"

Joe was now staring at AJ, trying to decode her.

"So, the other night when I came to see you and you said we were done. It just tore me to pieces. Then, your old friend Lily.."

"She's not an old friend, she's my best friend" Joe cut in, defending Lily.

"Ok, then when your _best_ friend Lily yelled at me, telling me that I shouldn't have come back and that you were starting to love again, I wanted to break down and cry. You love someone again Joe? I just couldn't imagine you loving, kissing…" AJ shuddered before continuing, "touching anyone else. Please tell me the truth. If it's true I'll go. But…but if it isn't I want to give us another shot. I need you Joe and I know deep down; somewhere in you…you need me too"

Joe continued staring at AJ, before he walked into this room; he wanted nothing to do with her. But, now…what was he going to do?

* * *

Kevin and Selena walked over to Rico's to get a quick juice. "Two apple juices please" Kevin smiled towards Jackson. He just grumbled something, Selena laughed at the memory of Jackson trying to make a move on her the other day.

"So how's Demi and your family?" Kevin asked, passing a 10 dollar bill to Jackson as he exchanged that for their juices.

Selena ignored his first question, "The family's great" she smiled, taking a sip of her apple juice.

"And Demi?" Kevin asked, also taking a sip of his drink.

Selena began to play with her straw, "We don't talk much anymore."

Kevin looked at her skeptically, "Yeah, I kinda figured that after the way she stormed out of our house" he laughed.

Selena laughed along with him, "Yeah, we just don't see eye to eye, I guess"

"Wanna talk about it?" Kevin offered.

Selena watched as a couple walked by, wearing wet suits and carrying boogie boards under their arms.

Her eyes lit up, "I'd rather go boogie boarding!"

* * *

Nick waited on Miley's front porch for the bus to drop her off, he heard the sound of an engine roaring and ran up to the end of the driveway to be met with the yellow bus. "HI NICK!" he heard someone call his name. He looked up to find Amber sticking her head out of the bus's window. He smiled weakly up at her, than felt someone's presence next to him. He turned to find Miley rolling her eyes. He planted a kiss on her cheek.

He heard a gasp come from the bus as it spun off.

"Great…I'm dead tomorrow" Miley joked.

"But you looooooved it" Nick joked.

* * *

_(This part may seem a little confusing)_

"AJ I don't know what to say" Joe stated.

xx

"Hey! Stop splashing me!" Selena giggled as Kevin's hands hit the water and water flew up into her face.

**Some relationships were just beginning.**

xx

"Say you'll give us another shot" AJ pleaded.

xx

"I love you" Nick stated, pulling Miley closer to him.

"I love you too" Miley smiled.

**Some relationships grow more as time passes by.**

xx

Lily smiled as she sealed the letter. She was going to tell Joe how she felt about him.

**And some relationships ended before they even begun.**

xx

"Ok" Joe stated.

* * *

**I felt really good about this chapter. So...please review! And please no "update soon" I want to know what you guys really thought about this chapter! :) Please & thank you!**

**xxEmilyKearsexx**


	12. Are You Happy Now?

_Could you look me in the eye?  
__And tell me that you're happy now  
__Would you tell it to my face or have I been erased  
__Are you happy now? Are you happy now?_

"You, WHAT!?" Nick exclaimed, his jaw nearly dropping to the newly glossed, hard-wooden floors in the dining room.

"I gave her a second chance" Joe stated, while setting the dining room table for dinner that night.

"So that's who's coming over tonight? Her family?" Nick asked, he was so confused. What had gotten into Joe?

Joe nodded his head as he placed the forks next to the plates. Nick followed him around the table as he got everything in order. "Look at you Joe!" Nick exclaimed, "You're already changing! If you were going out with…I don't know per say, Lily! Then, we'd all be eating pizza in the living room while playing Charades…you-you're already changing" Nick pleaded.

Joe laughed, "Nick, I am not changing! Now, if you'll excuse me. I need to go and find a nice jacket to wear." He then walked out of the dining room and ran up the stairs to get ready for dinner.

Nick walked into the kitchen in defeat. Mrs. Jonas stood by the kitchen island, cutting up potatoes. "It's his decision Nick, you don't have a say in whom he does and does not date, even if we _do_ prefer Lily."

Nick nodded his head and then made his way for the front door. He had to tell Miley…

* * *

Miley walked along the beach, sand getting caught in between her toes. She had just received a text message earlier from Lily, telling her that she was going to tell Joe. Miley was thrilled; things were finally starting to go everyone's way…well except for the message she had gotten the other day.

She still hadn't figured out who that was from.

Miley turned so that she was now facing the ocean, she watched as the huge waves turned into small ripples against the sand. A perfect California evening…

"Hey!"

She turned around to find Jake Ryan running up towards her.

Crap.

"Hey" Miley greeted with much less enthusiasm. "Nice view, huh?" Jake asked referring to the scene she had just been watching before she had been rudely interrupted. "Mhmm" was all Miley said.

The two now stood side by side watching a bird swoop down and land on the water. "So what are you doing tonight?" Jake asked, catching a glimpse of Miley as her locks blew in the wind.

"Jake, you know I'm dating Nick."

"Yeah…dating…I didn't think-" he was cut off by her, "I love him" she stated clearly.

Jake was at loss for words, he stood there awkwardly, racking his mind for something to say. "You told me you loved me too. Look where that got us"

'_Touché _Miley thought.

"He's different Jake, ok? Just drop it. Is there any other reason you came here?" Miley asked.

"Yeah I actually wanted-"

He got caught off by Nick running up to Miley's side, "Mi! I need to talk to you" Nick finally noticed Jake, "What are you doing here?"

"He was just leaving" Miley answered harshly. If her tone was venom, Jake would be dead right about now.

Nick wrapped his arm around Miley's shoulders and led her away from Jake.

"So talk to you later?" Jake asked, laughing lightly, and then walking away.

"What were you doing with him?" Nick spat disgustingly. Ha! Nick..was..jealous!

This was priceless.

"Are you, jealous?" Miley asked, surprised while smiling like a fool.

Nick rolled his eyes, "No and besides, there's a reason I came here"

The two walked down the beach, Nick's arm still wrapped around her shoulders. "Ok, well what is it?" Miley asked.

"Joe's with AJ again"

Miley's heart stopped, NO!

"No!" She exclaimed, out loud this time. "Uh, yes?" Nick answered.

"No! I mean, no this can't be happening! Lily likes Joe! They're supposed to get together"

Nick understood, "Yeah, I know. But, it looks like Joe has other plans in mind"

* * *

Selena stood awkwardly in the doorway, sure she had become rather close to the Jonas' but, being invited to dinner with your crush's brother's old ex girlfriend, and now current girlfriend is just too awkward. "You know, you can come in if you want" Kevin joked.

Selena smiled back at him and walked into the living room, "Sorry, must have spaced out there for a moment"

"Mom! I told you to sauté the chicken not fry it!" Selena could here Joe exclaim from the kitchen. He barged out of the room and stomped up the stairs, muttering something about not getting anything done.

"What's up with him?" Selena asked.

"AJ" was all Kevin said. I guess that was an explanation around here for them, but she had absolutely no idea what that meant…

* * *

Lily and Oliver skated over to the Jonas' residence. Mrs. Jonas had invited them over earlier that day, saying they were having guests over and would love for everyone to be there. However, Lily didn't exactly know who the guests were.

They made it to the end of the driveway and threw their skateboards over onto the lawn, just like they always did. They burst into the house, just like they always did and Lily made her way up to Joe's room _just like she always did_.

Everything was normal…

She burst into the room, without knocking. "Hey Danger" she smiled, collapsing onto his bed.

"Hi Lily" he responded in a rushed way, cleaning up his room frantically. "What's up with you?"

"Just trying to clean that's all. Hey, could you get off the bed? I just made that" Joe asked impatiently.

Lily knitted her eyebrows together, what had gotten into him?

Just then; the doorbell rang.

"Joe! They're here!" Mrs. Jonas called up the stairs.

"It's time" Joe mumbled to himself while walking out of the bedroom.

'_Time for what!?' _Lily thought to herself frantically.

* * *

**I sorta, kinda, despise this chapter. Not exactly some of my best work. Even if you hate me...review!**

**xxEmilyKearsexx**


	13. Crash

_Crash  
that was you and me, started out so innocently  
shattered on the ground, I hear the sound  
Crash  
ringing in my ears, I still feel the sting of my tears  
Someone, Wake me I can't seem to break free_

Lily sat frozen, she could hear footsteps downstairs and voices. She slowly began to rise from the bed, then made her way for the door. She stopped mid-step when she heard Mrs. Jonas.

"Carrie, Mark! How are you two?"

She brushed those names off, but she could hear her heart shatter when Kevin greeted the next guest.

"Hey Aly. How's the whole trying to avoid us thing going cause we haven't heard from you in what, a decade?" Kevin joked.

She heard Aly laugh and respond with a, "Shut up Kevin!"

Lily stood at the top of the stairs watching the scene unfold right in front of her blue eyes, "Hey" Joe blushed as AJ walked into the house, "Hey" she smiled. He placed a gentle kiss on her cheek and then took her hand, guiding her into the living room.

Lily sat down on the top of the stairs now cradeling her head in her hands. Miley and Nick burst into the house.

"Lily we need to talk-!" Miley stopped when she saw everyone gathered in the living room making light conversation.

"Crap" she cursed.

Nick looked up at Lily sympathetically. The two climbed up the stairs and led Lily into Nick's room. "We tried to tell you earlier" Miley sighed. Lily just nodded her head, a small tear gliding down her cold cheek.

"It's not your fault." Lily muttered, "I think I'm just gonna go home"

"Please stay for dinner!" Nick insisted.

"Nick" Miley whispered into his ear, "I don't think she would be able to handle it. You know Joe and AJ, they'll be all over each other…"

He bowed his head in defeat, "We'll bring over some left over dessert to your house later Lils" Nick sighed.

Lily nodded her head gratefully, "Thanks guys"

The two led Lily to the front door, saying a quick goodbye. Once the door slammed, Joe looked up. "Hey, was that just Lily?" he smiled.

Typical Joe. When he wasn't with AJ he was a wreck, this lunatic and when he was with her he was so focused on her, he paid no attention to what was going on around her.

"Yes Joe that was Lily! Wanna know why she-" Nick tried to start a fight.

"Left? Her Mom wasn't feeling too well, so she went home to check up on her." Miley finished his sentence.

Joe continued smiling, "Hopefully Heather feels better."

Miley walked over towards the group of people, leaving Nick by the door shaking his head in frustration. She sat down in between Selena and Aly and started to listen in on their conversation.

"No way!" Selena exclaimed, "You got to go on tour with The Veronicas?"

Aly nodded her head enthusiastically, "Yeah! They were so freakin awesome! You know, tomorrow I'm supposed to be going to the mall with them, you should totally join!"

Selena's smile brightened, "I'd love too! Miley should come too! She has great fashion tips"

Aly looked over towards Miley, "Hey Mile" she smiled.

"Hey Aly. How are Bandit and Roadie?"

Aly smiled, "They're great, but they miss Loco" She was referring to Miley's old dog.

"Um, Loco passed away a few months ago" Miley responded dully.

Aly looked at her shocked, "I'm so sorry. Wow, we really haven't talked to each other in a while…have we?"

Miley frowned, "No we haven't. I didn't realize how much I missed you Al!"

The two girls hugged each other and Nick looked at their affection with a disgusted look. What had gotten into Miley? Wasn't she mad at AJ for stealing her best friend's crush away from her?

* * *

"Thanks for dinner Mrs. Jonas" AJ smiled at the older woman.

"No problem sweetie! Come back any time! We'll set up an extra place mat for you"

"But, you'll have to bring that amazing apple pie you baked for us tonight again" Mr. Jonas added, coming up from behind Mrs. Jonas and wrapping his arms around her waist.

AJ's smile widened, "I wouldn't dream of it sir!"

Joe walked AJ to the door and quickly kissed her goodnight, "I'll call you?"

AJ nodded her head and made her way for her car.

"Lovely dinner, Denise!" Carrie Michalka exclaimed, "Yes thank you for tonight, we had a great time" Mark Michalka added.

The two made their way for their cars.

Joe finally closed the door and locked it, "Ready to go back to your place Mile?" Selena asked.

Miley smiled at her friend, "Yup, let me just grab my sweatshirt from Nick's room"

Nick shot her a confused look, Miley nodded towards the stairs. He followed her up and once they made it to his room he spoke, "You didn't bring a sweatshirt Mi."

She laughed, "I know"

Miley ran her hand through Nick's curls, scratching his head in the process. Nick moaned at the friction of her finger nails against his head. She then slid her other free hand up his neck to cradle his cheek. She began to trace hearts on his cheeks, then planted butterfly kisses up his neck, making her way to his mouth. Once she reached her destination, she planted a chaste kiss on his lips. He slipped his arm around her waist, fingering the fabric of her shirt. They continued this until air was finally needed, "I just didn't know what your parents would think of me, innocent Miley if they saw me do that in front of them."

"I'm not sure what they'd think. I think you might have to show me again so I can get the full picture" Nick insisted.

Miley just laughed and shook her head, "I'm sorry, but if I don't get home now I'm gonna be late for this date I have with this curly haired boy. You might know him, very attractive. Maybe another time though."

"I see how it is!" Nick joked, "Well have fun on your _date" _

"I plan too" She replied in a seductive tone and with that, she made her way out Nick's window.

He sighed, God did he love that girl…

* * *

Oliver was casually walking around downtown, his mother had sent him to pick up her dry cleaning. It wasn't supposed to be ready till 7:30 PM and it was only 6:45 so he decided to stop by 'The Main Squeeze'. He walked up to the cash register and put in his order, "One pineapple-strawberry twist please" he ordered. He then made his way towards the tables section, waiting for his drink to be called when his phone began to ring.

He reached into his back pocket and pulled out the slim, silver object. "Hey Selena" he answered, "Uh, no I haven't seen Miley."

"Yeah, she might still be at the Jonas''" he replied casually, "Selena Gomez! She is not doing such a thing with Nick right now!"

He began to laugh, "Trust me, I know Miley and Nick. They're waiting…well I guess they love each other. But- wait a minute…I am _not_ getting into this kind of conversation with you!

He heard his number be called and walked up to the counter, exchanging money for the juice.

"Mhmm, well Sel, I gotta go. Just … maybe check her Hannah closet. Alright I'll see you tomorrow. Bye" Oliver hung up the phone.

A brunette slid into the seat next to him, after he took a seat at a random table.

"Hey" she smiled.

"Hey…" he answered cautiously.

"So was that really Selena Gomez you were talking to?" she asked, leaning closer to him.

"Yeah…Hey do I know you?" Oliver asked, her name was on the tip of his tongue.

"Probably" she smiled.

"I'm Oliver" he smiled, putting out his hand so the girl could shake it.

"I'm Demi" she smirked, shaking his hand.

* * *

**Dun. Dun. Dunnnn ...  
****That's all I have to say.**

**xxEmilyKearsexx**


	14. Fell In Love Without You

_Last night I feel in love without you  
__I waved goodbye to that heart of mine_

There was a knock on the door, causing Miley to wake from her deep slumber. She tried to ignore it, but the visitor had other plans.

"Selena" Miley groaned, "Can you open the door?"

Selena clamped the pillow over her head, snuggling deeper into the comforter next to Miley. "Your room, your door, your problem" Selena muttered.

Miley moaned, then discarded the sheets from her body. "I hate you" she whispered over towards Selena, before hopping off the bed.

"I love you too" Selena responded, however it came out more as a slur. Soon her breathing became even and she was sleeping again.

Miley slowly opened the door, it creaking in the process. Lily burst into the room, "Morning girlies! How are we this lovely Saturday morning!?" Lily exclaimed cheerfully.

Miley turned to look at the clock, resting on the night stand while rubbing her eyes. "Lily" she yawned, "It's 5:45 AM, go back to bed"

Lily ignored her, "I just saw the sun rise and trust me Miley, it was one of the most beautiful sights ever! Then, I went on my morning jog alone and stopped by Rico's to grab a lemonade, wow; I never knew how early Jackson had to be there!"

Miley dragged her feet over towards her bed, collapsing on the mattress, right next to the sleeping Selena.

"Then after that, I came here to wake you two up, but your Dad said you two were still asleep so he made me some pancakes, ooh they were chocolate chip too! Amazingly delicious! And I almost forgot to tell you-"

Lily finally stopped her rambling once she noticed the snores escaping from Miley's mouth. "MR. STEWART!" she called, "GOT ANY PANCAKES LEFT!?"

* * *

It was now around noon and Oliver was walking around the boardwalk with his new friend Demi. "So you're a singer?" Oliver asked. Demi bowed her head, blushing. "Yeah, I'm-I'm not that good though…"

"I'm sure you're great" Oliver insisted. Demi just blushed again.

"What about you?" Demi asked, "What do you like to do?"

"I'm actually really into skateboarding" Oliver smiled, "I'm planning on going pro with my best friend Lily"

Demi's ears perked up, "Really? Who are these great best friends of yours?"

Oliver's eyes brightened, "They're great…really! My friends Miley and Selena are really into singing. Along with my three other guy friends, I'm sure you guys have a lot in common"

"I'm sure we have _tons_ in common" Demi smirked.

* * *

Nick walked into the kitchen that afternoon with a smile plastered across his face; he and Miley had a very fun night. He shuffled over towards the fridge, pulling the door open and taking out a bowl of strawberries. He set the fruit on top of the kitchen table and pulled out a chair and took a seat. He picked up a strawberry and plopped it into his mouth. Joe came whistling into the kitchen, fully dressed.

"What up, fro bro?" Joe asked, sitting down next to Nick.

Nick sighed, "I know this may sound twisted, but I can't wait until our break is over"

Joe laughed, "I'm actually liking this break, I want it to last longer!"

Nick looked at him skeptically, "What are you talking about? Just a few days ago you were saying you couldn't wait until we could hit that stage again"

"Eh, so what? I feel different about it now…" Joe shrugged his shoulders, grabbing a strawberry from the bowl and plopping it into his mouth.

There was a pause, "I'm, uh- gonna go take a shower" Nick stated, getting up from the table.

"No can do, Kevin and Dad are using both bathrooms" Joe replied.

"Guess Miley's gonna have to deal with a smelly Nicholas today" Nick muttered under his breath as he ruffled his hair and walked up the stairs.

* * *

"So, I'll call you tonight?" Oliver asked.

"I'd love that" Demi smiled, "and we're still on for tomorrow morning? Drinks at Rico's?"

Oliver's smile widened, "It's a date"

* * *

Selena rolled over on Miley's side of the bed and was surprised when she didn't feel anyone next to her. She slowly opened her eyes, "Miles?"

No answer.

She slowly sat up and scratched her head, looking around the room curiously. Once she heard laughter coming down the hallway, she stopped wondering. Miley ran into the room, slamming the door behind her, out of breath. She was taking deep breaths and her eyes were wider then ever before.

"Selena…we have a problem!" she exclaimed.

Selena stared at her worriedly, "I hate problems"

Miley rolled her eyes, "You're telling me…"

"What's the problem?"

Miley jumped up on the bed, next to Selena. "It's Lily, she's … happy"

Selena burst into laughter, "And? What's the matter with that?" she asked in between giggles.

"Sel! You're not understanding what I'm trying to get at. She's being _too_ perky! It's so unlike her."

She nodded her head, finally understanding what Miley was saying, "Joe? I'm guessing?"

"It's the only thing I can think of" Miley sighed.

* * *

"Hey Joe!" Frankie smiled up at his older brother, "So I've finally decided you can join my annual meetings! Mr. Long-neck and Mr. Long-Nose agree with me too, Mr. Wrinkly-Face is a little shaky about it, but I'm sure we can get him on board with a jar of Mom's cookies!" Frankie exclaimed.

"Not now Frankie" Joe grumbled, "I'm busy"

Frankie knitted his eyebrows together, "Joe? Are you ok? Usually you're begging me to come to my meetings! Oh no! Mr. Wrinkly-Face got to you, didn't he!? Now you listen here Joey! Don't listen to _anything_ he says! He's a mean stuffed animal!" Frankie cried.

Joe just rolled his eyes, "Quit it Frankie!" He then stormed off to his room to call AJ.

Frankie frowned, what was going on with his older brother? He didn't like this new Joe…

* * *

**I miss the old Joe :(**

**xxEmilyKearsexx**


	15. Hot N' Cold

_Cause you're hot then you're cold  
__You're yes then you're no  
__You're in and you're out  
__You're up and you're down  
__You're wrong when it's right  
__It's black and it's white  
__We fight, we break up  
__We kiss, we make up  
__You, You don't really want to stay, no  
__You, but you don't really want to go-o_

The warning bell rang, telling all students to hurry on to class. Miley slammed her locker door shut and followed Lily into Biology. "Really Miley! We should go bungee jumping this weekend! I hear it's very exhilarating!" Lily exclaimed, sliding into her chair in front of Miley.

Miley rolled her eyes, Lily had been like this for the past week, ever since she found out about Joe and AJ. It was really starting to get on her nerves…

"Hannah has a concert this weekend and then a brunch with Tracey Sunday morning remember? You and Selena promised to come…" Miley sighed.

Lily turned around in her seat, still smiling. "Oh yeah! Silly me, I totally spaced there for a second. We'll just have to do bungee jumping another time."

'_Silly me?' _Miley asked herself, What had gotten into this girl!?

Oliver strolled into the classroom smiling like an idiot, while Becca walked in behind him with a glum look on her face.

Miley caught Oliver's arm and pulled him towards her desk before he could get any further. "Oliver! You didn't break up with Becca, did you? _She_ usually breaks up with _you_!" Miley exclaimed.

He just rolled his eyes, "Yeah I did. Becca and I didn't exactly things in the same light. But, unlike me and my new-"

"Alright class, take your seats" Ms. Kunkle instructed. Oliver scurried off to his seat, in front of Lily.

"Today we'll be studying how the brain works. How we make the decisions we make and how our brain decides if they're the right ones or not" Ms. Kunkle pointed to the diagram of a brain on the projector.

"Makes sense, Oliver doesn't have one. So how could he possibly make a good decision?" Miley mumbled to herself.

* * *

Selena took a bite out of Kevin's cookie and then swallowed with a dreamy look on her face, "Oh yeah. Your'e right, those are amazing"

Kevin gaped at her, "That was not a tiny bite! How did you fit all that into your tiny mouth!?"

She smiled proudly, "I'm an expert at cookie eating"

Kevin just laughed, "Not in this household you aren't, Joe is. But, I'm not sure if he's up for game anymore"

"AJ! No, I don't want to go out with all those people! Why? Because I don't even know them! So what if I've read about them in a magazine?" Joe barged down the stairs, "You know what AJ? I think I'm just gonna stay home tonight…something you rarely do! Yeah, bye" He flipped his phone shut and sighed angrily.

"I think this would be our cue to go" Selena whispered to Kevin.

"No, stay! Please" Joe exclaimed.

Kevin gave Selena a look saying 'Just a few more minutes'. "Ok" Selena nodded. Joe walked over to the two on the couch and sat down in the arm chair next to them. "So what have you two been up to lately?" Joe asked.

He had been so into AJ the past week, he barely knew anything was going on around him. He had no idea about all the family dinners he missed or Tuesday night movie nights with all their friends. Frankie had now taken his spot on the couch, just keeping it warm until he came back; that's what Frankie said at least. Joe didn't know anything about Kevin and Selena's relationship either. Unlike Miley and Nick who were filled in 24/7. They were forced to listen to them gush about how cute the other one looked that day, or "You should have heard what they said! It was so cute!" Nick and Miley would just roll their eyes and mentally say, "Welcome to my world"

Joe was clueless beyond his relief. "Nothing too big" Kevin answered for them, "the movie last night was one of the highlights of our week" Kevin laughed.

"Speak for yourself!" Selena giggled, hitting him playfully.

"Just stuff some more cookies into your mouth Selena and everything will be fine!" Kevin joked. Selena gaped at him jokingly, "You know what Kevin!?"

"What Selena?" Kevin smiled.

She leaned over and placed a gentle kiss on his cheek. When she pulled back he was blushing a deep red, "That's what" she smiled.

"I'm just gonna, uh go. I see you two are busy and I – uh. Yeah ok, see ya!" Joe tried to make his exit before they started making out in front of him. But, that's another thing Joe didn't know. They didn't do that yet, they were still in the early stage. So that kiss on the cheek he had just witnessed was a big deal; but he was just too clueless to notice.

* * *

Miley knocked on the Jonas' door that evening, Lily standing behind her bouncing on her tip-toes. "Maybe Oliver giving you that energy drink wasn't the brightest idea" Miley sighed.

"Ohmygosh!" Lily exclaimed, "the ice cream man Miley!" she pointed towards the Ice Cream truck flying down the street.

Miley rolled her eyes. Kevin finally pulled the door open, revealing Mr. Jonas in the living room making a phone call and Mrs. Jonas by the windows cleaning the … blinds? Apparently Frankie thought it'd be funny if he drew on them...

"Hey Kevin" Miley smiled, entering the house. "Hi Kevin!" Lily added cheerfully, latching onto the older brother and induldging him in a bear hug. Kevin looked over her shoulder and mouthed to Miley, "What's gotten into her?"

Miley just shrugged her shoulders even though she knew perfectly well what had gotten into her.

"Hey Mi" Nick smiled, speeding down the staircase so he could get to Miley. She reached out her arms, for him to pull her into a hug, but he had better ideas. He took a hold of her arms, pulling her closer to him and capturing her lips in a slow, sensational kiss. Miley pulled back breathless, only to hear Mrs. Jonas clearing her throat. The two turned around to see the two parents glaring at them, well Mrs. Jonas was sort of glaring, it was more like her trying to hold back her laughter from their embarrassment.

"Let's go" Kevin told Lily, attempting to escort her out of the house. "Selena's at Rico's, right?" he called back to Miley, "Yeah and she brought you some cookies to make up for today..? Or whatever that means"

Kevin smiled to himself, "Just like Sel"

Joe came running down the stairs, "Hey guys. Where are you going?" he eyed them making their way for the door.

Miley was just about to close the door, but didn't want to be rude towards Joe even though they hadn't been 'close' lately. "Rico's" she smiled.

"Oh cool. Can I come?" he asked hopefully.

"Uh-" Miley had to think about this for a second, what would Lily do? She was pretty unpredictable lately. Would she continue being unbelievably happy or go back to her sulky phase? "Sure"

Guess we'd find out soon.

* * *

"Yeah, it's movie night on the beach!" Demi exclaimed. Oliver smiled at her, it was the right move breaking up with Becca for her, he just knew it.

"Think it'll be fun?" Oliver asked, as Demi latched onto his arm and the two strolled down the beach on their way to Rico's.

"Tons!" Demi was beaming. She had actually started to like Oliver, but just not enough to get rid of her plan.

"So how'd your concert go last night?"

"It was great" she giggled, "It would have been better with you there though"

"Sorry I couldn't make it, my Mom made me clean the attic. I have no idea why she wanted me too, it's not like we ever go up there" Oliver smiled apologetically.

They finally made it to Rico's and stopped by the shack to ask Jackson for some smoothies, "Hey aren't you that girl from that movie?" Jackson asked, trying to think of her name.

"So I've been told" Demi rolled her eyes.

* * *

**See that little clicky button that says "review" below? Click it! Please & thank you! :)**

**xxEmilyKearsexx**


	16. Think of You

_But I think of you whenever life gets me down  
I think of you whenever you're not around  
__And you rest your bones somewhere far from my home  
__Yeah, but you still pull me home  
__Just to put your mind at ease  
__You don't owe me anything  
__You paid me well in memories_

"Oh there they are!" Oliver exclaimed, waving his friends over, "Guys! Over here!"

Selena pulled Kevin along, the two of them laughing a long the way. Nick was right behind them, giving Miley a piggy back ride. Lily and Joe trailed behind the group awkwardly.

"Hey Big O, how's –D-Demi?" Selena asked in disbelief. "Oh so you two know each other!" Oliver exclaimed, "That's great!"

Selena stood there speechless. "Wonderful…" Demi smirked.

Miley looked Demi up and down. This girl did not sit well with her; it was just her presence that upset her. Miley's mind flashed back to the text message the other day. Wait…

"_We got into a little disagreement" Selena explained_

"_We just didn't see eye to eye" _

"_D…D…D? Who was that?"_

It was all coming together now. Could the mystery texter be Demi? But, why?

Selena watched as Demi latched onto Oliver tighter. He was getting played and didn't even know it…

* * *

"Nick, come on" Miley laced their hands together and pulled him towards the back of Rico's, once they reached their destination Miley collapsed onto the ground. Nick sat next to her. "What's going on?" he asked, pulling Miley closer to him, not liking the distance.

"I've been keeping something from you" Miley bowed her head.

Nick knitted his eyebrows together, "Ok…what have you not been telling me?" he pulled her into his lap. Miley nuzzled her nose into his neck. "I got this text message the other day and the person said they were gonna find out my secret"

"They what?" Nick asked in disbelief.

"I think it's Demi" Miley's voice came out muffled, as she nuzzled her head deeper into Nick's chest. Nick rested his hands on Miley's shoulders and gently pushed her back, "Positive?"

Miley nodded her head, "She messes with Oliver, she messes with us" he stated.

* * *

The rest of the night went as normal as possible. They all sat on separate blankets, watching the movie that was being projected onto the side of Rico's shack. Selena stared at Oliver and Demi in disgust as Demi scooted closer to him, until finally his arm was around her shoulders.

"Psst…" She heard Miley whisper to her, trying to claim her attention. Selena turned her head their way, "what?" she mouthed.

Miley nodded them over, Kevin, Selena, Lily and Joe made their way over towards Miley and Nick's blanket which was only a few feet away, not a far hop.

"We have to get out of here. We need to talk privately." Nick stated.

"What about Oliver and Demi?" Lily asked, "Shouldn't they be coming too?"

Miley and Nick looked at each other for a moment then looked back at the group, "it's about them."

"Finally!" Selena exclaimed, "I don't have to keep my mouth shut anymore! You guys have noticed too?"

"Noticed what?" Joe asked, completely oblivious. No one answered, deciding to just ignore his pointless question.

Nick told Lily, Kevin and Joe where they were going while Miley pulled Selena to the side. "Sel, I got a text message the other day…it, uh said some weird stuff. You think it might be Demi?"

Selena shook her head frustratingly, "I know it's her"

* * *

"Through the window!" Miley exclaimed, "I-I can't make it through! Isn't there a door?" Joe asked, attempting to get through the broken window. Miley shook her head, "That's the only way. All the other entrances are boarded up…"

Lily rolled her eyes and pushed Joe through the window. He landed with a thud on the cold ground, "Ow!" he exclaimed, rubbing his butt. "Sorry" Lily smiled deviously. He stuck his tongue out at her, she did the same.

"Hey!" Kevin exclaimed, "You two…quit it!" He gave them the 'I'm watching you sign' and went slid through the entrance too.

"So what exactly is this place!?" Joe asked in awe.

"It's ok Joe, they know" Nick sighed.

"Damn, I thought I was going to be able to put on this whole act too!" Joe joked.

Lily giggled at his immature behavior, Joe noticed this and flashed her a smile.

"Remind me why we let them in on our little secret hideout again?" Miley whispered into Nick's ear.

"You want to help Oliver, right? And keep your identity hidden?"

Miley nodded glumly, "It's the only way" Nick stated.

2 years they had kept this place a secret from everyone. It was their sanctuary, the only place they could escape from everyone and everything. It held so many memories…

_1 year ago…_

"_You really think she'll like it?" Miley asked Nick as she held up the scrapbook she had been working on all month for him to see. _

"_She'll love it" He confirmed, smiling at his girlfriend._

_She sighed out of relief, "Now that I have your opinion, I can relax!"_

"_Mi, what should I get your Mom for her birthday? She's practically my second Mom now!" Nick laughed._

_Miley smiled, "Something meaningful. Make it yourself, those are her favorite gifts. The ones that come from the heart, that's what she always says"_

_Buzz Buzz_

_Her phone vibrated furiously, "Hello?" she answered. "Hey Daddy! … Daddy what's wrong… Yes, I'm fine. I'm with Nick…We're uh at his place…Daddy why do you sound so different? … What about her?..."_

_Miley's facial expressions changed from happiness to worry to shock to devastation._

"_Wh-what?" she asked._

_Nick could hear Robby Ray's muffled voice, but couldn't make out anything he was saying._

"_NO!" Miley shouted into the phone, "SHE CAN'T! She's not allowed too! … Daddy please, please tell me you're joking!" Miley laughed/cried into the phone. _

"_I know you are!" She was laughing hysterically into the phone as tears streamed down her cheeks, "Daddy, you can stop fooling around now! Nothing happened to Mama, she's fine. Now can Nick and I get back to our evening? … STOP THAT DADDY! STOP SAYING THAT!"_

_Miley flung the phone across the floor, Nick shot up from his place next to Miley and grabbed the phone, then ran back to Miley's side … now cradling her. "Hello, sir?" Nick answered the phone._

"_Yes sir, I'll take care of her… "Robby Ray was just about to hang up, but Nick stopped him. "And sir? … I'm sorry"_

The day was imprinted into her memory forever. But, they weren't _all_ bad memories…

"_What the …?" Miley said as Nick removed his hands, covering Miley's eyes. "I found it yesterday" Nick was beaming. "Well, what is it?" Miley asked curiously, taking a few steps closer to the building and running her finger tips across the rough bricks. _

"_Remember that old factory that made those shoes your Mom is still crazy about? Well, I guess once they went out of business they never got a chance to sell this place."_

_Miley glanced at the dead plants around the building, "Looks like this place has been abandoned for a while."_

"_That's why, we're going in!" Nick exclaimed happily. Miley knitted her eyebrows together; confused. "Are you crazy boy? What if someone's in there or there's an alarm or something?"_

"_You said this place looked abandoned didn't you?" Nick asked as he threw a rock against a window watching the glass shatter in a million pieces, "Let's go" he smiled._

It was supposed to be a one time thing, an adventure. See if they'd get caught, find anything interesting. But, it turned into a tradition that they would carry on for many years to come. Then there were the pointless memories she wanted to hold onto the longest.

_Nick had brought peanut butter and fluff sandwiches that night and Miley was starving. She had devoured the first half of the sandwich within 1 minute. "Uh, you have a little…" Nick pointed towards Miley's nose. _

"_Hmm?" Miley looked up from her sandwich. Nick smiled, leaning forward to plant a kiss on Miley's nose, removing the small smudge of fluff. She blushed once she noticed what he was trying to say._

_Nick and Miley were still only centimeters away. They both slowly leaned in, Nick's hot breath on Miley's neck causing goose bumps to show. He pressed his lips onto hers, both now loving the taste of the other ones lips. Nick pulled away slowly and whispered into Miley's ears, "I think I may just be falling for you"_

They should make sandwiches more often…

"So it's a plan?" Nick asked the group. There they all sat on the blue, fluffy blanket in a circle all nodding their heads.

She must have been day dreaming longer then expected.

"Tomorrow morning, everything begins…" Selena smiled deviously. Miley looked around the group suspiciously, how much had she missed?

* * *

**Sooo here's the thing. I usually update more on weekends, but during the school week I'll probably post a chapter once a day or every two days. So, nothing too bad :) Hopefully... **

**xxEmilyKearsexx**


	17. Secret

_Got a secret  
Can you keep it?  
Swear this one you'll save  
Better lock it, in your pocket_

"Morning Jonas'" Selena smiled brightly, walking into the household. "Well, hello mi'dear!" Kevin exclaimed, speeding down the staircase. "Did you talk to her?" Selena whispered to Kevin once he was by her side.

"She's all for it" he smiled.

"Perfect" Selena smirked, "And Lily and Joe?"

Kevin's smile grew wider, "Locked in the upstairs bedroom. Never even saw it coming"

On the walk back to Selena's house, Kevin and she discussed the idea of sticking Lily and Joe together. They were in no condition to help carry out this plan, so they would just have to be alone that day -- together.

The two stood in the living room, smiling. Today would be a fun day…or not. Depends on how things played out. "KEVIN!" came Joe's voice from upstairs, "I swear Kevin, if you don't let us out right now, I'll hunt you down!"

"Joe just knows how to make a man feel loved" Kevin joked.

* * *

Miley stood on the stoop of the Oken's porch. Her fist collided with the front door for the seventh time. Finally, the door swung open revealing a boxer wearing – Oliver. "Whoa boy!" Miley exclaimed, "Cover up!"

Oliver just rubbed his eyes, "Miley…what are you doing here at…" he reached into his sweatshirt pocket and pulled out his phone, "7 am."

"I felt like going out to get breakfast at the diner" Miley smiled.

"Why didn't you just call?" Oliver asked, stretching his arms over his head.

Miley shrugged, "Cause you would have just probably hung up and gone back to sleep"

Oliver sighed, "True…Let me just go get dressed and leave a note for my mom"

He went back inside and climbed up the stairs, leaving Miley out on the front porch. She smiled happily and pulled out her phone, dialing a familiar number.

"It's all set, are you in position with her?" Miley asked.

"We're good to go"

* * *

Miley pushed open the door to the diner, the smell of bacon hitting her the minute she put her foot through the door. Her eyes rolled back at the heavenly scent.

'_Focus Miley! You're not here to eat!' _She reminded herself.

"I think I see a free booth over there!" Miley called back to Oliver who was trailing behind her.

He just nodded his head and dragged his feet, trying not to fall asleep. They finally made it to the booth, in the corner of the restaurant. Miley took the seat, overlooking the other customers while Oliver took the opposite seat, facing the wall behind Miley. "So, what are you thinking on getting?" Oliver asked as he opened up his menu.

"Um, I can't decide on a full bladder" Miley lied.

Oliver smiled, "You are so weird Miles"

Miley laughed forcefully, bad idea. Oliver gave her a funny look then went back to looking at the menu. She slid out of the booth and made her way for the restrooms, passing a certain table on the way. A boy slid out of his seat and followed her.

Once she was in the ladies' bathroom, she turned around and acknowledged the boy. "Where is she!?" Miley asked curiously. Nick scratched the back of his neck, "I told her to be here at 7:30!" Miley sighed, Becca never did well with timing.

"So, while we're waiting wanna-"

"Not now Nick!" Miley exclaimed.

"Right" Nick blushed.

"I'm just gonna go back out there and stall" Miley sighed.

Nick nodded his head, causing his curls to flop down in front of his face. There was a knock on the bathroom door. "Just a minute!" Miley exclaimed, "Oh god. If we go out there, they're gonna think we were doing something!"

Nick looked around the bathroom frantically, a light bulb going off in his head. "I got an idea!"

* * *

Miley opened the bathroom door halfway, slipping out quickly. "Oh you don't wanna go in there! Toilet's backed up" Miley exclaimed to the boy standing in front of her.

"Jake?" she caught her breath.

"Oh hey Miley" Jake flashed a toothy smile.

"What are you doing here?" Miley asked.

"Just here with a friend"

Miley eyed him skeptically, Jake didn't have friends. He only had girlfriends…

"Oh really? Who is this-"

Nick burst out of the bathroom, "The water was almost up to my ankles!" he exclaimed, his shoes squeaking against the tile floor.

He then noticed Jake and the three grew silent. "Um, Nick….Jake's here with a friend"

Nick blew out a sigh of relief, "Oh, hey Jake"

"Hey" he answered dryly.

Miley's heart was thudding and she was tapping her foot impatiently, "Ok, great talking to you Jake!" she managed to get out, "See you … uh later… maybe … I don't know … probably not … but it's a possibility …"

She always started to ramble when she got nervous, "What she's trying to say is bye." Nick cut in, grabbing her hand and running back into the main part of the diner.

"Nervous much?" Nick joked.

* * *

Nick took a seat at her table and Miley was making her way back to Oliver and hers when she noticed a girl sitting with him.

Becca Weller.

They were laughing and Oliver looked as if he could fall out of his seat at any second from laughing so hard. Becca had a look on her face that she wore when she was with Nick.

The look of love.

Miley turned around and made her way back to Nick's table. She slid into the seat across from him and smiled, "Mission accomplished" she laughed.

Nick ripped a piece off of his waffle and grumbled something, "Not quite"

* * *

"Are they even gonna feed us?" Lily exclaimed, holding her stomach which had started acting up a few minutes ago.

"Maybe we can use the window!" Joe's face brightened up, "Miley and Nick use it all the time"

"IT'S LOCKED!" Kevin's voice boomed through the room. He was downstairs in the living room, smiling cheekily while swinging the keys around his index finger.

"Stupid Kevin. Stupid Selena. Stupid us." Joe huffed, collapsing onto his bed.

"You need to learn some new adjectives" Lily giggled.

"Well, aren't we hilarious?" Joe joked.

Joe could hear the ring tone for his phone start to play and began to look around his room frantically for the object.

"Hello?" he heard Selena answer.

Damn.

* * *

"Oh, AJ! Sorry, Joe's a little tied up right now. You want him to come over your house? … I don't think that's gonna be possible … Why not?"

Selena quickly looked at Kevin, begging for an excuse. Kevin slumped lower in his seat, currently on the couch.

"Sick" he mouthed.

"He's sick" Selena answered quickly, "… What's he have? … the bug!" Selena exclaimed.

Kevin laughed, "The love bug that is."

* * *

"Those two thought of everything, didn't they?" Lily groaned.

"Well prisoner # 2, what shall we do?" Joe asked from his bed. Lily lifted herself off of Nick's and walked over to Joe and sat down next to him. "First of all, I'm prisoner # 1!" Lily joked, Joe just rolled his eyes. "And second of all…" Lily paused then a smile broke out on her face, "I think it's time for a little round of SAPF"

Joe broke out into laughter, "We haven't played that since we were like what? 5?"

Lily nodded her head, "Are you scared Joseph? Afraid you'll lose _again_ at this game?"

Joe just rolled his eyes, "Bring it on girlfriend!"

* * *

"Demi? That's his _friend_!?" Miley asked in disgust, Nick nodded as he lifted his glass of orange juice to his lips and took a sip. He then put the glass down on the polished table and sighed, "She just can't get lost, can she?" Nick asked, now aggravated.

The two sat in their seats, stunned as they watched Jake and Demi communicate. Demi feeding Jake every once and a while and Jake laughing furiously.

"It's all for publicity" Miley rolled her eyes.

"Jake has enough publicity" Nick stated.

"I wasn't talking about him…" Miley pointed out.

* * *

Lily chucked a stuffed animal penguin at Joe's head then hid behind their computer desk. "Missed me!" Joe exclaimed, "Face it Lils! I will always be the Stuffed Animal Pro Fighter" Joe gloated.

Lily popped her head out from behind the desk, "So not true! You've got only 5 left and I still have 9! You're dead Danger!"

Joe glared at her while juggling an ostrich stuffed animal in his left hand. A devious smile then broke out across his face and he dropped the toy. He slowly began to approach Lily. She backed away quickly, until she was pressed up against the wall.

"Joe?" she asked hesitantly, "Joe what are you –"

He lunged towards her and began to tickle her fiercely, she collapsed to the ground in laughter.

"S-Stop!" she exclaimed, sticking her arms out; trying to push him away.

"Joe!" she laughed, "I can't breathe!" she gasped.

He immediately stopped and noticed the position they were in. Her, sprawled out on the floor with him in between her legs; hovering over her. Their lips just a couple inches apart. He smiled down at her, she did the same. He began to inch forward. Lily could now feel his breath on her lips and blushed. She had been waiting for this, but had never actually thought it would happen. Their lips brushed and then attacked each other fiercely. Gentle, just wasn't their thing.

Lily melted into the kiss and then joined into the action, playing tag with their tongues. Joe slid his hand behind her back and slowly brought the two up off the ground and into a standing position. Lily snaked her arms around his neck, pulling him closer. Joe bit her bottom lip and then continued exploring her mouth. Discovering a new side of Lily. A moan escaped Lily's mouth causing Joe to go wild. He slammed her up against the wall and oddly enough, Lily didn't mind.

His touch, his lips, his sweet taste drove her body crazy. She wanted him and finally she had him. Joe slid his hand under Lily's shirt and rubbed his thumb against her soft, smooth skin causing Lily to shiver.

"Breakfast for the two prisoners!" Kevin exclaimed, knocking on the door.

Lily and Joe pulled apart quickly. They stared at each other, shocked for a moment. Still in the same position, Lily pushed up against the wall and Joe's hand on her stomach. Once they realized they were still holding onto each other; they flew apart. Lily on one side of the room and Joe on the other.

"Hello?" Kevin called again, "I got pancakes!"

Lily brought her fingers to her mouth, gently brushing them against her bruised lips. Joe panted quickly, out of breath.

"Well I was gonna let you guys out for a few minutes, to let you escape from your boredom, but I guess you guys are keeping yourselves entertained so I'll just leave the plate of food outside your door" Kevin sighed from the other side of the door.

Oh they were entertained alright; he had _no_ idea.

* * *

Oliver and Becca walked over towards Miley and Nick's table, holding hands happily.

"Hi guys!" Becca was beaming.

"Hey Becks" Miley smiled.

"Thank you" Becca mouthed to Nick. He just smiled back at her and then went back to ripping his waffle to shreds.

"So, Becca and I decided to give it another shot. All relationships need a little work" Oliver shrugged his shoulders then turned his attention back towards Becca, admiring her beautiful eyes.

"We're gonna head out now though" Becca added.

"Yeah, thanks Miles. For breakfast and Becca. You helped a lot. What was the coincidence of us all being at the diner at the same time!?" Oliver asked, completely oblivious.

Miley tried to stifle a laugh, "Crazy, I know"

Becca and Oliver made their way towards the door just as Jake and Demi got up from their seats and started walking towards the exit as well.

Oliver stopped in his tracks, causing Becca to stop too; seeing as they were still holding hands.

"Demi?" he asked, confused.

"Oliver?" she gaped.

"Jake?" Oliver knitted his eyebrows together.

"Becca!" Becca piped in feeling left out, as much as Oliver wanted to laugh at her cuteness, he was too furious.

"Oh crap" Miley muttered.

* * *

**Finally! It's up! Sorry, for the wait. I just didn't know what to write. Minor case of writer's block. But, it's all good now. So I read the new issue of 'Seventeen' and I grew a LOT more respect for Miley Cyrus. Like I had respect for her before. But, just hearing her talk about certain things made me realize, she is great! My friends don't exactly like her. Ahaa, but whatever. I still like...**

**Review! Review! I love getting them. They just make my day :) **

**xxEmilyKearsexx**


	18. Complicated

_Why you have to go and make things so complicated?  
I see the way you're acting like you're somebody else gets me frustrated  
Life's like this you  
And you fall and you crawl and you break  
and you take what you get and you turn it into honesty  
and promise me I'm never gonna find you fake it  
no no no_

Miley and Nick stared blankly at the group for a few seconds then immediately sprung out of their seats. "Jake!" Miley exclaimed, flashing a big smiled; forced beyond belief.

"Miley!" he exclaimed back, a little hesitant.

"Demi!" Nick exclaimed, smiling at her.

"Yeah, I'm not doing that…" she rolled her eyes.

Becca stood next to Oliver, awkwardly. "Aren't you going to introduce me?" she asked, excitedly. "To who?" Oliver knitted his eyebrows together. "Demi Lovato!" she exclaimed. Oliver sighed, "Demi…Becca…Becca…Demi" he mumbled.

"Hi" Becca smiled.

Demi looked her over, then turned her head towards Jake again, "Jakey, I wanna go to the fair" she said in that annoying tone of hers. Miley cringed at the sound, it reminded her of Jake's old girlfriend; Rachel. She despised her.

Jake smiled over at her, "Of course Dem." He looked over at the group, "Alright well, we better be heading out. I'll talk to you later?"

Miley nodded, "Miley" Jake smiled. Not saying goodbye to the others.

Nick wrapped his arm around Miley's waist, pulling her closer to him as Jake walked away with Demi, laughing lightly.

"She seemed…sweet" Becca frowned.

"Yeah, as sweet as a sour onion!" Miley rolled her eyes.

"Is there such a thing?" Nick whispered into her ear.

"I don't think so" she giggled.

Oliver sighed, "Well Becca and I are gonna go back to my place. See you guys later" He held the door open for Becca as she slid out, him following her. Something seemed off with Oliver, was he ok? Wasn't he happy he and Becca got back together? Hmm…

* * *

Lily stood on one side of the bedroom and Joe stood on the other. They had been in that same position for the past half hour. Lily had barely blinked. There was a knock on the door. Lily and Joe ran towards it at the same time, their hands brushing as they reached for the door knob. They pulled back immediately, not making eye contact. "Guys, it's me. I have the key! Kevin's asleep and I thought I'd give you guys some fresh air" Selena's voice came from the other side of the door.

Joe stood still, zoned out. While, Lily reached for the door knob and turned it open. The door swung open revealing a beaming Selena, holding some chocolate chip cookies. "You realize Kevin unlocked that door a long time ago and you guys could have just left any time you pleased?" Selena laughed.

The two were still silent. Selena looked them over, skeptically. "Ok, uh well then I'm just gonna put these cookies down and leave since you two have uh so much stuff going on."

No response.

"Alright. Well, you two chatterboxes have fun" she rolled her eyes as she walked back out the door and down the staircase.

Joe shut the door and looked over at Lily. Their eyes making full on contact. "You want to do that again?"

Lily just nodded her head, still shocked and Joe ran up to her, pushing her up against the wall; allowing their lips to reconnect.

* * *

Selena peeked into Joe's bedroom after 10 seconds of them thinking she was downstairs. She just smiled before closing the door and walking downstairs again.

"It worked, didn't it?" Kevin smiled, amusingly as he put a word down on the Scrabble board.

"Like a charm"

* * *

Miley jumped over the white fence, her feet hitting the cold ground. The street lights flickered on and off do to the thunder storm that was currently happening. She finally crossed over into the Jonas' yard when a strike of lightening crashed. She was just about to scream in terror when a hand came around her body and covered her mouth. This, just frightened her more and she was about to kick the crap out of this stranger when she smelt the familiar smell lingering on their body and relaxed. She removed their hand and turned around slowly, collapsing into their arms. "Fact 1: Never come up and scare me like that ever again" she laughed.

Nick rolled his eyes, "Either way you were going to scream"

Miley smiled and took a hold of his hand as the two walked down the sidewalk and made their way towards the warehouse. Miley kicked a rock in front of her and turned to Nick, "Demi broke Oliver's heart" she stated.

Nick shot her a confused expression, "What do you mean? He's with Becca."

Miley sighed and shook her head, "Did you see the look in his eyes when he saw them together, it was just painful to even look at. Imagine what he was feeling!"

Nick nodded his head, understanding completely. That's what he usually felt like when Jake tried to make a move on Miley. Hurt, pain, annoyed.

"And? What are we supposed to do about that?"

She looked up and saw that they had arrived at the warehouse, she let go of his hand and jumped up to grab the edge of the window; lifting herself up carefully.

She had finally made it through the window when she answered him, "I don't know…but, Demi's seriously starting to get on my last nerve"

Nick slid through the small entrance and jumped down. He brushed his hands off on his jeans and smirked at Miley, "You're not the only one"

* * *

She lay in bed that night, snuggling closer to the stuffed animal Joe had one for her at the carnival 2 years ago.

"_Joe. You know I'm not that into these stuffed animal things, why would you get me one?" Lily rolled her eyes as the two strolled down the walkway in the fair. They stopped by a near-by bench and sat down. Joe turned his body so that he was facing Lily, "'Cause you're my best friend and I want you thinking about me every second of every day while I'm on tour"_

"_It's only for two months Joey and besides Miley and I will be coming to a few of your nearby concerts too. It won't be so bad" she wrinkled her nose as she giggled. "See! That's what I'm gonna miss Lils" he smiled. She knitted her eyebrows together, not getting what he was trying to say. "All those little things you do and say. I'm gonna have to live without that for a while and I don't know how I'm gonna manage." _

_Lily blushed, "Just take the gift, ok?" Joe insisted. She nodded her head and then smiled, "I'm gonna name him Danger" Joe gasped, "That's copyright!"_

"_What?" Lily giggled, "It is _so_ not!"_

"_Mhmm!" Joe nodded, "I'm suing. Yup, that's right. I'm _**suing**_! You better get your lawyers on the line right now. You're going down Truscott!"_

_Lily just chuckled, she was going to miss him too. Most definitely. _

Lily leaned over the side of her bed and reached for her night stand. She unplugged her cell phone from the charger and allowed her fingers to swipe over the keyboard. She bit her lip, debating on sending the message or not. She finally pressed 'send' and sighed. Hopefully, she wasn't making a mistake.

* * *

_Buzz Buzz_

Joe jumped at the sudden buzzing noise. He flipped his phone open and read the new message. He had already taken his phone out, ready to text Lily, but it seemed as she must have read his mind.

**From: Lily Pad**

**About today…what does it make us?**

Joe groaned after reading it, he didn't know what that had made them. Well he knew what he wanted them to be, friends. Wait no, more than friends. No! Friends! Most definitely. Or…more then friends?

"Ugh!" Joe groaned in frustration. He took a deep breath, letting all of his frustration out. "I can do this" he told himself, trying to boost his confidence. He let his fingers take over and pressed the send button.

Was he making the right choice?

* * *

**Sorry for the "long" wait. School's been...well school. What else could it really be? Ooohhh Joe! What did you end up deciding? Well, with Joe you can never know. So review and you'll get the next chapter!!**

**P.S. and I just wanted to thank ttran59, missing in imagination and c-melle. your reviews always make me smile :)**

**xxEmilyKearsexx**


	19. Come Clean

_Let the rain fall down  
And wake my dreams  
Let it wash away  
My sanity  
'Cause I wanna feel the thunder  
I wanna scream  
Let the rain fall down  
I'm coming clean_

It was pouring outside. Forecast for the weekend: rain, rain, thunder, rain, lightening, rain and … yup, you guessed it, rain. Miley sighed as she brought her hand up to the window, overlooking the neighborhood and dragged her finger along it, causing shapes to show up. She was supposed to be going to a red carpet event tonight, didn't look like that was happening.

Jackson walked into the living room, muttering something useless. "Where are you headin'?" she asked as she watched him make his way for the door. "On a date" he muttered. Miley knitted her eyebrows together, "Did you even look outside today?"

"Did you even look outside today?" he mimicked her, "Yes Einstein, I did!"

Miley rolled her eyes, for a guy … he was a pretty big drama queen. "Well then, where are you going on your date?" she asked, walking away from the window and over towards the couch, taking a seat on the piece of furniture. Jackson sighed, "This girl is some fishing fanatic and since I told her I was an expert on every fish out there … guess where I'm going?" he moaned.

"Fishing?" she giggled. "Good thing she's hot" he muttered under his breath as he opened the door and walked out into the freezing cold, rain. Robby Ray then walked down the stairs and into the living room, reading a paper. "Whatcha readin' Daddy?" she asked, turning her body so she was now facing him.

"The horse races!" he smiled. "Daddy, you hate those" Miley arched her left eyebrow, wondering what this man was doing. "I know" he laughed, "But, Donsig entered into the race and I'm checking to see if he's losing or not"

Miley rolled her eyes, just like her father to do such a thing. She reached over onto the coffee table and grabbed the remote, turning on the TV. Ryan Seacrest's face popped up on the screen and Miley smiled. She loved that man to death; he was the only man out there in Hollywood who you could trust. Well, if you're not on air that is.

"For our number 6 on the Daily 10, Selena Gomez and Kevin Jonas were seen fractionizing at a local Miami beach. Is this puppy love or the real thing? Only time will tell…" Miley smiled at the pictures of Selena and Kevin splashing in the water. They were so cute together. She missed that old flame she and Nick used to posses. They held it for the first year and then 'BAM' and blew out. All the romantic evenings and surprises slowly stopped and it was just the nights at the warehouse.

"Our number 3 on the Daily 10. Jake Ryan and Demi Lovato? Seems as if Jake's making his way around California. Watch out ladies, you might be next. But, is that really a bad thing?" Ryan laughed.

Um, YES! Of course that was a bad thing. Being with Jake was like being with a statue. Stand here, smile, stand up straight. It's all for the publicity and then that's it, you're kicked to the curb. She would know…

Miley jumped when she heard a knock on the door. She stayed right where she was. "DAD!" she called.

No answer.

"DADDY! THE DOOR! MIGHT BE IMPORTANT!" she tried again.

Still no answer.

Miley groaned as she lifted herself off the couch and trudged over towards the door. She turned the handle and swung the door open to reveal a soaked Nick. "Nick?" she giggled. "Hi" he smiled, about to walk in. "Hold up!" she stopped him, "You are not coming in here" she paused, "looking like that"

Nick smirked, _'Oh god' _Miley thought to herself. "Well then, looks like _you'll_ just have to come outside with _me_" Before Miley could protest, Nick was dragging her out of the house and into the streets. Miley looked down at her attire. She was currently wearing a blue sundress that brought out her striking blue eyes. "We're gonna get sick" she complained, but smiled. She really didn't care if they got sick, but someone had to be smart.

"And?" Nick smirked.

He brought her out into the middle of the street and stopped, the two just stood there. Fingers entwined.

"Our parents will get mad" Miley tried again.

"And?" Nick continued to smiled, taking her hand and spinning her around, the two starting to dance.

"What are you doing?" Miley laughed.

"We're dancing" he paused, "in the rain with no music, just like you said you wanted to do when you were 13"

The corners of Miley's mouth pulled up into a smiled, "How do you remember that?"

"I remember everything you say Mi. It's just what I do"

"There's no music Nick" Miley smiled, her eyes shimmering.

"Then let's make some"

He began to hum a familiar tune. Then it hit Miley. She remembered what it was. It stung at first, the painful memories. But, then the painful ones collided with the happy ones. And the pain started to slowly fade away with each bar Nick hummed. "I miss her" Miley whispered, nuzzling her head into the crook of Nick's neck as the two swayed back and forth. He continued to hum, "You think she's watching us now?"

A bolt of lightening struck which caused Miley to jump. "I think you got your answer" Nick whispered in Miley's ear. He then kissed the top of her head and let her rest her head on his chest.

There they swayed; back and forth in the middle of the street. Their cares somewhere else, their worries far, far away and their love for each other right there with them.

* * *

There was a knock on the door. He jumped off the couch and ran for the door. It swung open revealing the stunning girl. "I'm not worth it" she stated. He walked outside and stood by her. The two now dripping wet. "Of course you're worth it"

She shook her head, "She's better then me. This is wrong; you're supposed to be with her"

He nodded his head, droplets of water now falling down his face. The two stood in the front yard, staring at each other.

"I'm supposed to be with her."

* * *

"Kelena?" Selena giggled as she turned the TV off.

"I like it" Kevin stated, pulling Selena into his lap and kissing her forehead.

**Some things happen for a reason.**

xx

Lily nodded her head, understanding. The fresh, salty tears mixing in with the cold rain falling down her cheeks.

"But, I need to be with you"

He captured her lips in a passionate kiss.

**Some things finally unravel after a certain amount of time.**

xx

"Kiss me." Miley stated as the rain poured down on her. Her dress becoming a solid blue thanks to the water, her hair becoming stringy and her eyes sparkling more then ever.

'_More gorgeous then ever' _Nick thought to himself.

**And some things…**

Nick slid his hand behind her neck and pulled her in for a mind blowing kiss.

**Well, some things never change. **

* * *

**I thought I owed you guys another chapter for being all busy and stuff. So here's a treat :) Hope you enjoy. REVIEW! pleeaaseee.**

**xxEmilyKearsexx**


	20. Boyfriend

__

So don't think you'd ever have a shot  
Cause if you had a shot  
You'd miss completely

It felt like a million construction workers were chiseling against her brain, each time she swallowed her throat burned and her nose was so clogged up that she had already gone through three tissue boxes and it was only 9 am. Robby Ray walked down into the living room to find his only daughter curled up on the couch, eyes fluttering open and closed. "I don't think you'll be able to do that concert tonight darlin'" Robby Ray sighed, making his way for the kitchen and opening the fridge to look for something to eat. Miley was just about to reject, but decided against it seeing as it would just make her throat feel worse.

"Got any idea what you got sick from?" Robby Ray walked into the living room arching his right eyebrow and taking a sip of his orange juice. Miley just blushed at the thought. She and Nick hadn't gone back to their places until 6 am. They ended up falling asleep at the warehouse and never set their alarm clocks. She just _knew_ she was going to get sick, but she didn't listen to her conscience. "No clue" she whispered. It hurt less, then talking at a normal volume.

"Hmm…" Robby Ray eyed her skeptically, "well I'm just gonna have to call Tommy and tell him that you're sick and you won't be able to go tonight"

Miley cringed at the thought; she wanted to perform so badly. But, her dad was right. It wasn't fair to the fans for her to lip sync; it was a complete rip off. She decided to give in and just nod her head.

Selena walked through the front door, unannounced. "Hey Robbay!" she giggled, gliding over towards the island and taking a seat on the stool. "Hit me up with some pancakes!" she smiled. Robby Ray smiled down on the girl; it was nice having Miley have more girl friends. He got worried when she hung around with the boys too much. Even if he did like Nick, he was still a father. And that's just what fathers do.

There was a cough in the background and Serena turned her head away from Mr. Stewart, "Miley!" she exclaimed, seeing the girl for the first time. "What are you doing on the couch?" Selena knitted her eyebrows together while making her way towards the sick teenager.

"She's ain't feeling to well" Robby Ray sighed, walking into the living room with a plate full of pancakes. "The flu, maybe? She doesn't know where she got it from, but I think I have an itch" he laughed. Selena smiled, "Hmm…Nick isn't feeling to well either. What a coincidence, you two getting sick at the same time, that is" Selena eyed Miley.

Miley just blushed and snuggled deeper into the pillows. "Well, here you go Selena" Robby Ray stated, handing her the plate of pancakes. "I've got a phone call to make to Tommy" he then walked back up the stairs and towards his office.

"Miles, what are you going to do about tonight?" Selena asked, taking a seat on the other end of the couch and stuffing a mouthful of pancakes into her mouth. She just shrugged her shoulders and pulled the covers up higher. Her phone started to buzz. Miley leaned over towards the coffee table and tried to grab it, but Selena beat her to the punch.

**From: Nicky**

**I'm at your front door. Open up :p**

Selena smirked at the cell phone and then looked over at Miley. "Alright, I can see when I'm not wanted" she pretended to act hurt. She set the plate of pancakes on the coffee table, causing Miley to scrunch her nose up in disgust; she didn't exactly have an appetite at the moment. She walked towards the door, placing her hand on the door knob and twisting it. On the other side of the door, Nick stood bundled up in a jacket and throw blanket; nose red and eyes barely open.

"Oh Nicholas! What a surprise! You coming over that is … you being sick, not so much" Selena laughed as Nick walked passed her and collapsed onto the couch next to Miley. Selena could hear soft snores start to escape from his lips. Miley gave her a slight wave and small smile. "Nice talking to you?" Selena giggled as she walked out of the house.

* * *

"What do you mean you didn't tell her?" Lily exclaimed. She and Joe had gone on their morning jog together and were now grabbing a smoothie at Rico's. However, after all this time Joe had "forgotten" to tell her something rather … important.

"All I could think about was you and what was going to happen between us" Joe smirked. Lily wasn't falling for that look; no matter how cute he looked at the moment. "Joe, AJ is still your girlfriend! You're basically cheating on her … and I'm not gonna be" Lily paused, slightly cringing, "the other girl"

Joe let out a quiet chuckle, "Lily, you're not the other girl" he rolled his eyes, "you're _the_ girl"

"Then what are you still doing with AJ?" she sighed, bringing the straw to her parted lips and taking a long sip of the honey-cinnamon smoothie. Her new favorite.

"It's complicated" he ran his hand through his hair. Lily mentally rolled her eyes, what _wasn't_ complicated these days?

* * *

"Hey Tommy!" Robby Ray smiled into the cell phone.

"Robby Ray! What a smashing surprise!" Tommy answered, his voice a little fuzzy, "Sorry love, I'm going through a tunnel. Now, what can I go for ya on this delightful day?"

Now Tommy had always been an easy going guy. He was born in England and moved to America at the age of 15. Now at the ago of 27 he owned a record company and produced artists such as the Jonas Brothers, Ashley Tisdale, Demi Lovato, Taylor Swift, Chris Brown and Jesse McCartney. But, when things didn't go his way. Well, let's just say it wasn't always a "smashing" situation.

"Well, Tommy. You know Hannah is very dedicated to her work and loves all her fans and …"

"I'm a very busy man Robby Ray ... " Tommy cut in.

"Hannah's sick" Robby Ray spit out. There was silence on the other end of the phone. "So she'll lip sync" Tommy sighed on the other line.

"You know she doesn't do that Tommy" Robby Ray reasoned. "Mr. Montana you know that this night is truly important. Tons of 'Hannah' fans will be devastated. Now love, we can make a deal. Hannah performs tonight and we give her a full week off soon"

Robby Ray sighed, "Isn't there anyone else that could fill in tonight? Just for tonight!" he pleaded.

He could hear Tommy sigh on the other end, "I guess there is, no … no … she's too new. Too fresh"

"Who?" Robby Ray's ears perked up.

"Well, there is that Demi gal"

* * *

"My head aches" Miley moaned.

"Why are those lights so freakin bright?" Nick complained, shielding his eyes from the light bulb above.

"Ugh, can you move those pancakes? They're really starting to make me sick" Miley rubbed her stomach.

"Why is it so cold in here? It's supposed to be warm out!" Nick moaned.

There was a few seconds of silence before Miley ended it, "Wanna watch some TV?" she asked.

Nick scooted closer towards her on the couch and nodded. "What else do we have to do?"

"COMPLAIN!?" Jackson asked from the kitchen where he was scarfing down on some chocolate ice cream.

* * *

**I didn't really like this chapter. But, please review anyways! I love coming home from school and seeing all your beautiful messages!**

**xxEmilyKearsexx**


	21. Crush

**IMPORTANT: Notice how they're aren't any lyrics up top as there usually is? Well read on and you'll find out why. BUT, the song used in this chapter is called "Crush" by: David Archuleta and if you want to get the full effect of this chapter, listen to it when the song comes up. It gives you the idea. Thank you :)**

* * *

The day was dragging on slowly. Miley sat on her couch, wrapped in a blanket; thinking about what just happened.

Demi? Filling in for _her_!? This wasn't happening.

Miley pushed herself off the couch and ran for the kitchen. She opened the cabinet above the sink and pulled cough medicine, Advil and Benydrl. She was going to fight this. She wasn't going to give in to Demi.

* * *

Selena walked down the hall, playing with her fingers. She was nervous as heck. What was going to happen when they found out?

She walked towards the door and connected her fist with the wood. "Come in!" she heard the voice answer. She slowly pushed the door open, popping her head in first. "Hey" she half-smiled.

Demi turned around from the vanity mirror, where she had been practicing her vocals. "Selena" Demi eyed her. "I uh, I just came here to wish you good luck."

Demi let out a small laugh, "You were just checking the scenery out, weren't you?"

Selena shook her head, "No, no Demi of course not. The truth is, I've missed you. They're no fun! I swear, it's like being in 7th Heaven. They're all perfect and just sit around, it's terrible. I miss us, just being goofy! I miss you!"

Demi smirked, "I was starting to think you weren't going to come around. But, I can always count on you Lena."

She walked over towards Selena and wrapped her arms around her, endulging her in a bear hug. Selena hugged back, hesitantly and then smiled once Demi rested her head on her shoulder.

Everything was in order.

* * *

"Tommy! We can't go on alone! Nick needs to be here, without him we're not the Jonas Brothers. We're just two dudes with some guitars." Kevin exclaimed towards their producer.

Tommy sighed, "I know, I know. But, you're brother isn't feeling too shabby love. There's nothing I can do. Trust me, if there was something I _could_ do … it would be done!"

Kevin let out a frustrated groan and fell back onto the couch. They had arrived backstage an hour ago. It was a concert to celebrate their record label's stars. The ones that had made it big. The Jonas Brothers, Hannah Montana, Taylor Swift and Chris Brown were supposed to be performing. Now they had Demi Lovato filling in for Hannah and two Jonas Brothers. It wasn't looking too well.

Joe sat across the room, in a Director's chair in front of the vanity mirror. "Chillax bro, everything's great" he smiled.

"How can you be so calm? You have to break up with your girlfriend tonight and Nick isn't here"

Joe let out a small laugh, "I may have had a Red Bull before"

You see, when people drank 'Red Bull' they usually got all hyped up for a while then crashed. Well, for Joe … it was the opposite. He was already always hyper, so 'Red Bull' calmed him down, making him mellow.

"I should have known" Kevin rolled his eyes.

* * *

"You know that Miley chick seems weird" Demi stated while running a brush through her hair in the dressing room. Selena sat on the couch across from her, looking at a magazine and listening.

"Why do you say that?" Selena asked, not taking her eyes off the magazine.

"She's always hanging around that Jonas Brothers! It seems like she's using them for publicity…you know like their song 'Video Girl'…" Demi commented, now fingering her hair.

Selena rolled her eyes, "Whatever you say Dem"

"Oh my gosh! I figured out who she is!" Demi exclaimed, jumping up from her chair. Selena's eyes widened, her heart sped up and her palms became moist. "You-you did?"

Demi nodded her head furiously, "Yeah! She's totally a video girl! I bet she's just using Nick for all the publicity!"

Selena calmed down immediately, "Uh yeah, you're probably right…"

Demi could be pretty oblivious sometimes …

* * *

Oliver as Mike Stanley III ran towards mic check and immediately started whispering towards Tammie. "So, you can do that?" he asked. She nodded her head, smiling at the boy. "Trust me Mike. I'm all over it. If she wants it, then she's getting it" she smiled her pearly whites. Mike blew out a sigh of relief, "You are my hero!" he praised her.

Lily as Lola Lufanagle sped over towards Mike. "Is it all set?" she whispered in his ear. Mike just smiled, approvingly. "Done, done and done."

Lola glared at him, "You've been reading my 'Clique' books again, haven't you?"

Mike blushed then sped off, "IT WAS A ONE TIME THING, I SWEAR!" he called back to her.

* * *

Demi took a deep breath as she stepped out of her dressing room and started walking down the hallway. Selena by her side, "I'm glad you came" she said.

Selena smiled at the girl next to her, "Me too, meee too"

They finally made it towards mic check and all of the crew. "You're on in 5!" a person with a clipboard shouted in her ear as they sped off to check Taylor Swift's guitar.

Demi began bouncing on her tip-toes, "This is so exciting! I'm finally getting my break instead of that Hannah Montana girl. She's old news now. I'm the next big thing" she smirked.

Selena nodded her head, "I totally agree"

Tammie ran over towards Demi, clipping on the microphone to Demi's colored jeans, then hooking it up to her ear, "There you go sweetheart" she smirked before rushing off.

"That was … odd" Demi knitted her eyebrows together.

* * *

Demi waited in the cage where she would be risen up onto the stage in. It was going to be perfect. She could hear footsteps above her and figured it was Ryan Seacrest who was hosting the event tonight. "Chris Brown everyone!" the crowd erupted in cheers, shouting Chris' name. "A very lovely lady will be performing next. She has a fresh face, a fresh voice, and a fresh personality…"

She smiled at the thought of Ryan speak very highly of her. All of the sudden she heard singing, it wasn't her … obviously. She figured it was someone's ring tone.

(_Hannah, _Nick, **Both**)

_I hang up the phone tonight  
Something happened for the first time  
Deep inside  
It was a rush, what a rush_

Cause the possibility  
that you would ever feel the same way  
About me  
It's just too much, just too much

_Why do I keep running from the truth  
All I ever think about is you_

You got me hypnotized, so mesmerized  
And I just got to know

Ok, that wasn't a ringtone. Demi ran out of the cage and up the stairs. She rushed towards the side of the stage and saw Hannah out there, singing her heart out. But, what shocked her even more was that Nick Jonas was accompanying her.

**Do you ever think  
When you're all alone  
All that we can be  
Where this thing can go**

Hannah slowly walked towards Nick, the microphone in front of her mouth. She had sucked down so much medicine that she felt as if she could fly. Nick took her hand in his and they looked into each others eyes.

**Am I crazy or falling in love  
Is it really just another crush  
Do you catch a breath  
When I look at you**

Nick smiled at Hannah, this wasn't just a crush.

**Are you holding back  
Like the way I do  
Cause I'm tryin, tryin to walk away  
But I know this crush aint goin away, goin away**

Nick and Miley had written this song a while ago. A year to be specific, before they said "I love you". They were finally figuring out their feelings towards each other. Miley's heart sputtered every time she read the lyrics.

Has it ever cross you mind  
When were hangin, spending time girl,  
Are we just friends  
Is there more, is there more  
See it's a chance we've gotta take  
Cause I believe that we can make this into  
Something that will last, last forever, forever

Nick and Hannah walked towards the center of the stage. Nick seranading her.

**Do you ever think  
When you're all alone  
All that we can be  
Where this thing can go**

**Am I crazy or falling in love  
Is it really just another crush**

Miley picked up the next part of the chorus, belting out the lyrics.

_Do you catch a breath  
When I look at you  
Are you holding back  
Like the way I do  
Cause I'm tryin, tryin to walk away  
But I know this crush aint goin away, goin away_

Demi had to fight back the tears in her eyes, they were taking it all away from her again. "Selena. How could this happen?" she turned to her friend.

Selena stood there smiling, watching as Nick and 'Hannah' showed their souls to one another.

"Demi…" she walked closer towards the girl, "I was never your friend. I will _never_ be your friend…" she brought her lips up to Demi's ear, ready to whisper the next statement, "it's over." she declared harshly.

Demi stood there stunned as Selena walked away to join Joe, Kevin, Lola and Mike over by the edge of the stage.

Why do I keep running from the truth  
All I ever think about is you  
You got me hypnotized, so mesmerized  
And I just got to know

The music lowered, singaling out the violin that a musician was playing in the background as Miley broke the chorus down into a soft tune.

_Do you ever think  
When you're all alone  
All that we can be  
Where this thing can go_

The music reved up again and Nick joined in.

**Am I crazy or falling in love  
Is it really just another crush  
Do you catch a breath  
When I look at you  
Are you holding back  
Like the way I do  
Cause I'm tryin, tryin to walk away**

The two turned towards each other, looking each other dead in the eye. Hannah brought her hand up to Nick's cheek and lightly brushed it across his smooth skin.

_But I know this crush aint goin away, goin away_

Nick took the hand Hannah had placed on his cheek and rubbed it, causing her to smile.

And I know this crush aint goin away, goin away

They interlaced fingers and sang the next line softly.

**Yeah,**** I know this crush aint goin away, goin away**

* * *

**I feel good about this chapter. I really do. I don't think it was my best "writing" but I think I got the message across alright. Nick plus Miley equals ... loooove. And ... Demi is done. Ahahaa, but it's not over yet. Nope, not yet.**

**xxEmilyKearsexx**


	22. Relapse

**Disclaimer: I do not own the song "Incredible", it is originally sung by "the Clique Girlz"**

* * *

_In my mind I see that I'm slippin'  
But I still can't seem to see the difference  
My heart is sayin' yes to go  
Body's sayin' no to it  
I need to get a grip on this  
She's got me in a daze she's got me in a trance  
She's got me so thrown tonight no I need to recover_

Joe stood backstage, his index finger placed to his chin. "Wait, I'm confused…" he knitted his eyebrows together, "I thought Miley and Nick were sick.."

Lola just rolled her eyes, "Come on big boy, I think you've had enough for one day" she giggled as she took his arm and led him away.

Selena stood in between Kevin and Mike, watching as Hannah sang her next song "Incredible". It was just her and her guitar, this song was one of Selena's favorites.

_How can it be, I'm with you now  
You've made my dreams come true.  
You've helped me put me here  
For that I am so sincere_

_By the love that I'll have, sent for you  
That moment I came on stage _

_Some how I always knew,  
That I've been waiting for you._

Hannah strummed away on her guitar, taking a deep breath then belting the lyrics out into the microphone.

_Tell me why, does it feel so incredible  
Where the light, shine on me, it's so beautiful  
I've been searching for all of my life  
For the love that you are, flow by  
And you're all that I need, you're incredible  
You're incredible_

The crowd swayed back and forth, smiling. This song was about them. Usually artists stuck to love, pain and friendship. But, Hannah stepped out of the box and made one for them.

_Look at __my fans, screaming that like,  
Look what you've given me  
The life that is now complete  
For what this is such a treat_

Nick jogged up behind Selena, tapping her on the shoulder and pulling her out of her daze. She slowly turned around, coming face to face with him. "Hey!" she exclaimed, automatically throwing herself on him and pulling him into a hug. "Hey" he answered, out of breath.

"That was amazing!" she smiled, pulling away. "It felt amazing" Nick blushed. "Why was I so out of the loop here?" Kevin asked. Selena just smiled at him, taking a hold of his hand. "Because, you have a big mouth" she answered sweetly.

He gaped at her, "I _do_ not!" Selena gave him a look, "No really! I don't!"

"Mhmm" Selena rolled her eyes, "So when we locked Lily and Joe in his room, you didn't laugh in Joe's face saying 'We're locking you awayy. We're locking you awayy' as I tried to convince them that we were just helping them fix his room up for Mrs. Jonas?"

Kevin blushed, "Ok, maybe it _was_ a good idea not telling me…"

Nick laughed, then turned his attention to Miley on stage.

_Day and day out, singing for you  
The moment __I came on stage  
and I'd only heard of love  
till' you showed me what it was_

Miley strummed the chords on her guitar furiously as she made her way into the chorus.

_Tell me why, does it feel so incredible  
Where the light, shine on me, it's so beautiful  
I've been searching for all of our lives  
For the love that you are, flow by  
And you're all that I need, you're incredible  
You're incredible_

Nick's heart fluttered as each word escaped from her lips. Her voice was so pure, angelic, and yet rough at the same time. Everything and more …

"Listen, I'm gonna go call Becca. See if she wants to come and meet us for dinner after." Mike smiled over towards the three. "K" Selena answered as Nick continued listening to Hannah's performance.

Becca knew about Miley being Hannah. They used to be really close, but drifted apart once Oliver and she started dating. It was a weird friendship, but they were slowly becoming closer.

_Don't you be scared to follow your dreams to come true  
Listen to your heart and you'll get through_

Nick looked out into the crowd to find a girl in the front row, crying. The lyrics Miley wrote connected with the crowd so much sometimes that it brought them to tears.

_Tell me why, does it feel so incredible  
Where the light, shine on me, it's so beautiful  
I've been searching for all of our lives  
For the love that you are, flow by  
And you're all that I need, you're incredible  
You're incredible_

Nick felt someone tap him on the back of his shoulder and turned around. The smile on his face, quickly dissapearing.

_And your loves all I feel  
You're incredible  
You're incredible  
Yeah, yeah  
You're incredible  
You're incredible_

"Jake" his eyes became slits and his voice became lower, the fire inside him raging.

* * *

They had gathered at a local restaurant, not such a wise decision. But, Joe … being Joe, was craving their chicken ceaser salad.

"Joe, can't you just get the salad somewhere else?" Lily asked, trying to stifle a laugh as she watched the 18 year old squirm in his jacket.

"Lily, Lily, Lily" he sighed, "there is a certain way they prepare it that makes my mouth burst into dance moves!"

Becca looked at him as if he were crazy, "What are you-"

"Just ignore him Becks" Oliver cut her off.

The group burst into laughter. Miley's laughter died quickly, unlike the others as she examined Nick. He was fidgeting, nervously in his seat next to her. "Hey.." she whispered into his ear. Causing him to wince. She noticed this. "What's wrong Nick?" she knitted her eyebrows together.

"Nothing, nothing. Just uh, need to go to the bathroom" he lied. "Excuse me for a second" he apologized as he slid out of the booth. His behavior was worrying Miley, she tried to shake it off and tune into the other's conversation.

"I did not trip over the chord" Joe rolled his eyes.

"Yes you did!" Lily giggled, "And then, Big Rob had to carry you off the stage and ice your head!"

Selena spit out the Diet Coke she had been sipping all over the table, cracking up. Everyone erupted into laughter once they saw Kevin's face, now dripping wet with Diet Coke.

"I'm-I'm sorry Kev!" Selena managed to get out in between giggles.

"In my defense, that chord wasn't supposed to be there!" Joe defended himself.

"Joe, you're always defending yourself. For once, just admit that you're a klutz" Lily laughed.

He just rolled his eyes and pulled Lily closer to him, his hand on her knee now.

Miley watched the two interact and smiled. Finally, they had overcome their fears and let out their emotions. Something that took Miley and Nick to do even longer! Yeah, even _longer_...

Almost a full year.

They were 13 when they finally told each other and had been crushing hard on the other one since they were both 12. The memories of she and Nick brought back the thought of Nick being in the "bathroom". Miley quietly excused herself and walked over towards the bathroom. A woman was standing in front of the men's bathroom, her arms crossed over her chest.

"Um, excuse me" Miley blushed. "Oh sorry, you're not allowed in there. Someone important is currently using it" the beach blond apologized.

"I'm his girlfriend" Miley stated, trying to get by her. "Oh my gosh! You're that Miley girl!" she exclaimed, unfolding her arms and bringing her hand to her mouth in shock.

"Yeah, can I go see him now?" she was starting to become impatient.

"You know, him and Hannah Montana sang a duet earlier this night. I heard it was pretty intenste…" she rambled on and on.

"Yeah, I was there. Now can I please go in now?" Miley asked, trying to find a way around her.

"Aren't you worried? I mean I would totally be worried if I was his girlfriend and he was hanging out with Hannah Montana! I mean, look at her! She's gorgeous. Tough competition sweetie" the blond stated.

Miley sighed, "I'm actually very close with Hannah. She has no intentions on stealing Nick away from me. Now, _can I please _go in there??" Miley pleaded.

"Oh sure. Why didn't you just ask?" the blond giggled, moving out of Miley's way.

"Thank you" Miley sighed.

She was about to push the door open when she heard Nick's voice, sounded like he was talking on his cell phone.

"Yeah, she's here" he grumbled into the phone. Miley pressed her ear up against the door and listened in.

"No, I can't do it! She means too much to me! … What do you mean if I really loved her? … You just don't give up, do you? … So you love her? … That's bull and you know it! … No, it's not good for her! .. It's terrible! … You've got a twisted mind."

Miley tried to press her ear up closer towards the door, what was Nick talking about? And more importantly _who_ was he talking to?

"She loves the spotlight! … She deserves it! … I'm not going to take that away from her! … You wouldn't!" Nick gasped into the phone.

There was silence for a moment, causing Miley to think he had hung up the phone. But, then his voice started again.

"Fine. I'll do it … This is only for her though … Because _I_ love her and _you_ don't! … Yeah, whatever … I'll discuss the rest of this with you tomorrow …" Nick slammed his phone shut and clamped it into the back pocket of his skinny jeans.

Miley flung off the door and ran back to the table; almost bumping into a waitor on the way. "He's on his way back" she declared as she slid into the booth.

Kevin and Becca nodded, signaling that they understood. Miley watched as Nick made his way for the table. "Hey beautiful" he smiled, as he slid into the booth and placed a kiss on her cheek. Miley placed a smile on her face to show him that she hadn't heard anything.

But, she _had_ heard something. Why were the teenage years so hard?

* * *

**(Sigh) the teenage years are in FACT, hard. But, so far...mine are great :) Lol. You guys have been amazing when it comes to reviews! My goal is to get around 400 soon. It's a big one, I know. But, I can always count on you guys to review and tell me your opinions. I really do listen to them too, if you want something to happen in the story; I take that into consideration and somehow put it into the next chapter. I always like to give the readers what they want. Thank you guys soo much!**

**xxEmilyKearsexx**


	23. Energy

__

Ya killing me  
Ya taking all of me yeah, oh  
This love is taking all of my energy

"I just feel bad for little Miley. Nick obviously likes Hannah and I'm a lot like Hannah, so he's gonna go for me" Amber bragged to her clones.

At that exact moment Miley passed them with Lily. The group of girls giggled before walking off. Miley just rolled her eyes, "Maybe that duet with Nick was a bad idea"

"No!" Lily exclaimed, "Are you kidding me? Well … ok maybe you _could_ have tone down that look you were giving each other…"

Miley knitted her eyebrows together, "What look?"

Lily had to stifle a laugh, "Miley, it looked like you guys could start making out any second!"

"That bad, huh?" Miley blushed.

They finally reached their lockers where Oliver was waiting for them, "What up mi'ladies?" he smiled.

"Ollie, you outta find a new line" Miley laughed.

"What are you talking about? I've been saying that since 2nd grade!" Oliver exclaimed, leaning against the metal locker.

"My point exactly"

Lily punched in the numbers to her lock and then swung it open. She quickly put her algebra textbook back on the shelf and took out her History binder. She was just about to close her locker when she caught a glimpse at her message board. There was a message scribbled in messy handwriting, she already knew who it was from: taking care of it today—see you home? xxjoe

She smiled at his message, Miley noticed. "What's up?" she asked, slamming her locker shut. Lily quickly closed her locker before Miley could read it, "Oh I was just thinking about something Joe said the other day"

Miley nodded and the three locked arms and walked towards P.E. "Why do we do this?" Oliver complained, "I don't know. We've been doing this for years, I guess it's just become a habit…" Miley guessed.

"You wanna stop?" Lily asked Oliver, seeing as he probably thought it was too girly. Oliver looked over towards the two and then smiled, "Of course not! I get to walk with the two hottest chicks here!"

The three laughed and continued walking towards P.E.

* * *

Joe took a deep breath before knocking on the door. It sounded like a stampede was coming down the stairs. Aly must have had Brendan over, they're friend. The door swung open, revealing Aly herself. "Hey!" she exclaimed, pulling him into a hug. "Hey" Joe smiled into the embrace, Aly was always very comforting.

"What are you doing here?" she smiled, pulling away from him and leading him into the house. He closed the door and walked into their kitchen before answering, "Just came to drop by and talk to AJ" he stated. He looked around the kitchen and spotted Brendan sitting at the kitchen table. "Hey Brendan" Joe greeted the teenager. "Hey Joe!" he called back, then went back to peeling a banana.

"What's up with you two?" Joe asked as Aly opened the fridge and grabbed a water bottle. She closed the refrigerator and then walked over to the kitchen table, taking a seat next to Brendan. "Brendan's movie just wrapped and he's got some time off"

Joe nodded then looked over towards the stairs, "She's upstairs" Aly rolled her eyes. Joe smiled towards her, "thanks"

Aly just nodded her head and then was immediately pulled into a conversation with Brendan. Joe made his way out of the kitchen, through the family room, past the sun room and towards the stairs. He slowly climbed them and then looked down the hall. He heard the music blasting from AJ's room and went to knock on the door, but hesitated.

_Every now and then  
I could use a friend  
I put you behind me  
And you're all that I see  
I can't imagine m__y life without you because... _

_You're all I want  
You're all I need  
Sometimes I feel left alone  
And when you're gone my heart seems to melt  
I want you right here beside me  
Because you're all I want_

She must have been working on a track, because it sounded raw. He finally found the courage he was looking for and knocked on the door frame. It immediately swung opened revealing a beautiful looking AJ wearing her boxers, tank top and song writing notebook in hand. "Oh, hi!" she smiled, a little flustered.

"Hey!" he smiled back, the pain he was earlier feeling; slowly fading away. AJ held the door open so he could come in. He immediately collapsed onto her bed, "Whatcha working on?" he asked, pulling her favorite blanket on top of him. He had been up all last night thinking and he was extremely tired now.

"New song" she beamed. "Aly and I are going into the studio tomorrow and are thinking about pitching it to them"

"Awesome!" Joe exclaimed, sitting up from his previous position on the bed, "Uh AJ can I talk to you for a –"

"Wait Joe! I want you to hear this other song I wrote!" AJ cut him off, "I need your opinion"

Joe thought he could at least listen to the song for her, before breaking the news to her. "Ok" he smiled. She grabbed her guitar that was leaning on her dresser and walked over towards the bed, taking a seat beside him.

She began strumming away on the guitar and then let the lyrics pour out between her lips.

_When something's pure  
How can people just say  
We're not meant to be  
And when something's true  
How can people just  
Keep me away from you _

_Suddenly I'm all alone  
Pushed away from nothing wrong  
Don't you have the guts to say  
How you feel about me_

Joe watched AJ's facial expressions as she closed her eyes and then took a deep breath before singing the chorus.

_Out of the blue  
They said we couldn't be together  
I have to get over you  
We've been given no choice,  
We have no voice  
Out of the blue_

She lightly glidedher fingers across the chords and they began to slowly fade out. She stopped all together and looked up at Joe, smiling.

"What's that about?" he was beaming.

"Past experiences" she blushed.

This was going to be harder then he expected.

* * *

Miley had gone over to the Jonas' house that afternoon, expecting to find Nick there. Mrs. Jonas had said he was out with a friend, Nick had said it was important.

"You can wait here if you want Mile" Mrs. Jonas smiled while climbing the stairs.

"I will!" she called up, "thanks"

Mrs. Jonas stopped half-way up. "I'm just about to fill the tub for Frankie to take his bath, would you mind helping him pick out his pajamas?" Mrs. Jonas asked politely.

Miley knitted her eyebrows together, "But, it's only 4"

Mrs. Jonas' smile widened, "Uh, yeah. Mr. Jonas and I are going out to dinner with your father, Lily's mother and Selena's parents."

"Oh so Kevin's babysitting?" Miley guessed. Denise slowly descended the stairs, "Not exactly…" she blushed, "Kevin and Selena are going to see that new movie out…what was it called? Tropic Storm? Tropic…Lightening"

Miley giggled, "Tropic Thunder" she corrected her.

"Right!" Denise smiled, "and Joe, Lily, Oliver and your friend Becca are all going bowling, I heard"

"Oh.." Miley nodded, and then she finally caught what Mrs. Jonas was implying.

"So you want me and Nick to baby-sit" she sighed.

"Would you, please?" Mrs. Jonas asked hopefully.

Miley rolled her eyes playfully, "When have I ever let you down Mrs. J?"

Mrs. Jonas' smile widened, "I can always count on you Mile. Now wanna help Frankster?"

Miley nodded then followed Mrs. Jonas up the stairs. She was happy that she and Nick got to spend sometime together that night, but something was still off with Nick. What was going on with that boy?

* * *

Nick tapped his fingers against the table, impatiently. "Would you like a refill?" the waitress asked, looking a tad jumpy. Nick was a regular here at the diner, him and Miley both. But, they were always hiring new employees which meant they had to deal with the whole "star-struck" thing repeatedly. "He's fine" a voice coming from behind Nick answered, "But, I'll have a cherry coke please"

Nick turned around in his seat to find Jake Ryan standing behind him, smiling that dirty smile of his. The waitress nodded furiously then sped off. Jake sauntered over towards the seat, across from Nick. He slid into the chair and rested his elbows on the table.

"I'm here. Let's get this over with" Nick sighed.

"What's with the rush Nick? Got a hot date?" he smiled.

Nick just stayed silent and glared at him.

Jake continued smiling, "Here's the deal. Demi wasn't exactly 'thrilled' about that little stunt you and Miley pulled at the concert" he put air quotes around thrilled.

Nick rolled his eyes, "We weren't planning on her to be."

Jake's smile disappeared from his face and he immediately became serious, "You need to keep Miley out of the spotlight for a while. Let Demi shine. If you don't – I'll tell everyone Miley's precious secret…"

A low growl escaped from the back of Nick's voice, "I can't do that Jake. She belongs there. In front of the crowd, doing what she loves. It's not my place to take that away from her!"

Jake rolled his eyes, "You're her boyfriend, aren't you?"

"That doesn't mean I control her! Miley is a beautiful, independent girl! She doesn't need me to boss her around…" Nick exclaimed.

Jake was about to answer when the waitress came back with Jake's drink. She placed it in front of Jake and then stood there, smiling. Jake gave her a look, telling her to leave. She did as she was told.

"That's what I'm talking about" Nick stated, "You can't just treat a girl like that"

Jake rolled his eyes and then took a sip of his soda, he slammed it onto the table, causing the soda to spill over the rim. "I'm Jake Ryan. I don't have to listen to you."

"Whatever" Nick scoffed, "Just, just leave Miley and I alone."

Jake shook his head, "I can't do that. Demi's not happy, and when Demi's not happy – I'm not happy"

"Since when do you care about her so much?"

"She has potential. She could be the next star. The next Madonna and if she does become the next big thing I _have_ to be the one dating her. It's just how it is" Jake shrugged.

"Just leave us alone, ok?"

Jake pushed his chair back and stood up from the table, Nick stayed seated.

"Just think about it" Jake smirked, "Think about Miley's secret, her happiness, her dreams and then think about how this could effect you. The paparazzi breathing down your neck about dating a superstar with a double life. Just … think about it" he smiled deviously, leaving Nick with the check, the mess and a whole lot of thinking to do.

* * *

Selena and Kevin had decided to walk into town that morning and catch a movie later on. They had only planned on doing this to get out of babysitting for Frankie.

Mission -- completed

Selena slid her hand into Kevin's as they walked along the sidewalks of the busy town. Passing shops and restaurants along the way.

"Got enough stuff?" he laughed, referring to the 4 shopping bags she held in her other hand. Selena glared at him, "A girl can never shop too much" she joked.

Kevin rolled his eyes, "At least your not making me carry them"

Selena nodded her head, her dark brown – practically black hair falling into her face. "That's how nice of a girlfriend I am" she smiled, teasingly up at him.

"So you're my girlfriend now?" Kevin asked, arching his right eyebrow.

Her heart immediately came to a halt and her breathing shortened. The words she wanted to stay stuck in her throat. "I, um, I was just saying, that I, uh…" Selena didn't know what to say.

"Great, cause I always thought that I was your boyfriend" Kevin smirked as the two continued to walk along.

* * *

**Awww. Don't you just love Kevin? Well, in this story I do. In real life (at the moment, that is) not so much. Isn't exactly the nicest guy around to certain people (cough) Miley Cyrus (cough). Anywho...reviews are always appreciated. Love the feedback I've been getting from you guys! Thanks again!**

**xxEmilyKearsexx**


	24. Love Story

**IMPORTANT: The song used in this chapter is called "Love Story" by: Taylor Swift. To get the full effect of this chapter I recommend listening to it while reading.**

* * *

_We were both young when I first saw you  
I close my eyes  
And the flashback starts  
I'm standing there  
On a balcony of summer air  
See the lights,  
See the party the ball gowns  
I see you make your way through the crowd  
You say hello  
Little did I know_

The French doors opened, revealing a stunning blond beauty. "Introducing Ms. Juliet!" the doorman called out to the crowd, a waiting at the end of the staircase. The girl slowly descended the staircase. Her manicured fingers wrapped around the banister, the gold ring on her index finger glimmering in the florescent lights. The crowd stared at her in awe.

Her beauty was surreal. Her smooth, silky hair had been placed piece by piece into an up do, a few wisps of hair falling into her face. A gold, diamond in-crusted hair band placed in her hair.

Her dress was breathtaking; the top piece was corset like. (**picture in profile)** A crème color, it tightened to her every curve, showing off her tiny waist. Jewels and thread were sewn into the corset, in the shapes of flowers; making it's way up her chest. Her shoulders were bare as the sleeves fell to the sides of them. The skirt of the dress was layered, a slit going down the middle. A darker crème underneath with a lighter color on top.

She glided down the staircase and finally made it to the crowd. Her prince charming a waiting her. "Romeo" she smirked towards him. Her light pink lips shaping into that smile of hers. "Juliet" he bowed, while taking his hand in hers placing a light kiss on her soft, delicate skin.

It was the annual masquerade ball, Tracey always threw once a year. 'Hannah' and Nick had gone as Romeo and Juliet. Joe and AJ had gone as Rose and Jack from 'the Titanic' and Selena and Kevin had gone as Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy from 'Pride & Prejudice'. It was a night of the stars, Oliver and Lily weren't allowed to come.

_That you were Romeo you were throwing pebbles  
And my daddy said stay away from Juliet  
And I was crying on the staircase  
Begging you please don't go, and I said_

"May I have this dance?" Romeo bowed in front of Juliet. She blushed, touched her lightly tinted cheeks, then her gold mask and nodded, curtsying. He slid his hand into hers, turning her around slowly, causing her skirt to twirl. Once she spun back to face him, he pulled her closer to him; placing his hand on her waist. Juliet's piercing blue eyes landed on Romeo's lips, then looked back up into his deep brown orbs. They swayed, she twirled, he dipped her, they whispered sweet nothings into each others ears.

_Romeo take me somewhere we can be alone  
I'll be waiting all there's left to do is run  
You'll be the prince and I'll be the princess  
It's a love story baby, just say yes_

"You look stunning" he whispered into her ear, causing chills to go down her spine. Juliet brought her hand up to Romeo's mask and gently touched his it. She smiled at him, beginning to remove his black mask.

"Haaannaaahhh!" She heard Tracey's nasally voice call her name. She froze in her place, her hand still on Romeo's mask, she pulled away and turned around.

"Hello lady Tracey!" Juliet curtsied.

"Lady … Juliet?" Tracey tried.

She nodded her head, smiling. They went all out for these things. The ballroom they were currently dancing in, looked breathless. Gold curtains draping over the windows, allowing the moonlight to shine in. The chandelier swaying from the ceiling. The painted pictures on the ceiling of angels plucking harps, it all made her feel amazing.

"Romeo" Tracey smiled.

"Tracey?" he tried.

"I decided to come as myself, if you're wondering. I'm a part of history so why not go as me?" she laughed. The sound making "Juliet" cringe.

"Excuse us…" Romeo smiled, politely, "we need some fresh air"

_So I sneak out to the garden to see you  
We keep quiet cause we're dead if they know  
So close your eyes  
Let's keep this town for a little while  
Cause you were Romeo I was a scarlet letter  
And my daddy said stay away from Juliet  
But you were everything to me  
And I was begging you please don't go and I said_

Juliet held out a lantern in front of them as they walked the back gardens. White Christmas lights had been hung up outside, lighting the walkways. Her arm was laced through his and the water fountain on their right side was trickling water. He stopped them abruptly, causing her to turn to him; confused.

_Romeo take me somewhere we can be alone  
I'll be waiting all there's left to do is run  
You'll be the prince I'll be the princess  
It's a love story baby just say yes_

He placed his arm on her shoulder, sliding it up her neck and to her cheek; caressing it. "What's wrong?" she knitted her perfectly plucked eyebrows together. He slowly leaned in, resting his forehead upon hers. He stared into her gorgeous blue eyes and knew he was making the right decision. "I love you" he whispered, placing a light peck on her soft lips. He pulled away slowly, resting his forehead upon hers once again. Her eyes remained closed, a small smile plastered across her face. "I love you too" she whispered so softly it was barely audible.

Her eyelids began to flutter open, her eyelashes brushing against her skin. The light gold eye shadow on her eyelids shimmered in the lantern light. "You've been distant lately" she whispered once again, barely audible. She held her gaze on the water fountain, not daring to look into his eyes; afraid she'd see something different.

"Only to become closer to you" He slid his index finger under her chin, tilting her head in his direction; causing her to look at him. "I don't understand" she shook her head lightly.

_Romeo save me, they're tryin' to tell me how to feel  
This love is difficult, but it's real,  
Don't be afraid  
We'll make it out of looseness  
It's a love story baby, just say yes, oh,_

"I'll tell you another time…" he smiled, brushing his lips against hers. "Another time..?" she looked confused causing his smile to widen. "Another time" he confirmed.

"I've been waiting for you, you know" she ran her hand through his curls. "You've been waiting for me?" he tilted his head, now the one confused.

"Yes. I've been waiting for you to save me from my thoughts…" she blushed, the color on her cheeks reddening, "you know it's never safe for me and my thoughts to be alone."

_I got time to waiting  
Wondering if you would ever coming around  
My faith in you was fading  
When I met you on the outskirts to town I said_

"I've just had a few things to take care of my dear, Juliet"

A warm breeze blew by, causing the vanilla scent of her skin to fly up into his nose. His nostrils began to flair, loving the smell of her.

"Well, Romeo…please don't leave me alone, ever again" she insisted, twirling one of his curls around her finger.

He shook his head, "Of course Juliet" his lips curving into a smile.

_Romeo save me I've been feeling so alone  
I keep waiting for you but you never come  
Is this in my head, I don't know what to think  
He fells to the ground and pulled out a ring_

_And said_

_Marry me Juliet you'll never have to be alone  
I love you and that's all the reason for  
I talk to your dad go pick out a white dress  
It's a love story baby just say yes_

"I have something for you …" he whispered into her ear, his hot breath on her neck. He pulled back, and took something out of his attire's pocket. It shimmered in the light. Her breath caught in her throat.

"A promise" he smiled, sliding it onto her finger. The same finger that the gold ring rested upon. The gold ring symbolizing their love for each other and the new ring symbolizing their promise to each other. A tear slid down her porcelain skin, he brushed it away with the pad of his thumb.

"A promise" she confirmed. The two leaning in for a kiss, connecting their lips another time that night.

_Oh, oh, oh  
Oh, oh, oh, oh  
Cause we were both young when I first saw you_

* * *

**This story was in serious need of some good Niley. Did I succeed? I really liked this chapter, I hope you did too.**

**xxEmilyKearsexx**


	25. Here We Go Again

**I swear, I'm like having a "Leonardo Dicaprio" marathon. A moment ago I finished watching "the Titanic" and now I'm watching "Romeo and Juliet". (Sigh) don't you just love him?**

* * *

_All the times I tried before  
But I keep coming back for more of this  
Somewhere underneath these dark clouds  
I'll find that magic kiss..._

A stream of light made it's way through the shattered window and shined upon the two sleeping bodies. She stirred in her sleep, pulling the boy closer. His eyelids fluttered open, his gaze falling on the girl sleeping in his arms. He slid one arm from her waist and rubbed the sleep from his eyes; then slid it back into its old position. The girl smiled in her sleep as he made contact with her once again. "Good morning Princess" he whispered into her ear, hidden by wisps of hair. Her eyes slowly opened, as she smiled up at him. "Good morning" she answered sweetly, her voice softer then usual; due to the fact she had just been unconscious.

He helped her sit up and the two stretched. She lifted her arms over her head and stretched, smiling, showing off her pearly whites. "Sleeping in a corset is a definite no, no" she laughed. Nick nodded, pulling her into his lap.

The two had snuck off to the warehouse during the ball last night. "Rose" and "Jack" seemed suspicious, but no one else seemed to notice. Tracey had been too consumed in her other guests to even catch on slightly.

"_Take my hand" Romeo smirked, holding out his hand for Juliet to take. "Where are we going?" she laughed slightly, placing her hand in his. "Where else?" he smiled, leading the two in the direction of past times and present. _

Miley smoothed out her crème colored dress and tried to fix her now, bed head hair. Nick grabbed her hand, stopping her from attempting to fix anything else. "You look beautiful Miles" he smiled. "So we're back to normal names again?" she joked.

"Well, the masks and ... "he paused, "wigs" he coughed, "are off now"

She smacked his arm lightly. "What time is it?" she asked, casually while standing up and trying to de-wrinkle her dress.

Nick pulled out his phone, "7" he answered casually. She nodded her head, smiled, then a look of horror appeared on her face.

"7!?" she shrieked, Nick's face went blank. "Oh shit…"

* * *

Miley climbed through her window, her dress getting caught on the corner of the window's ledge. "Crap" she swore as she tore a little piece of the dress off and stumbled into the room. She put her hands out in front of her, catching herself before she hit the bed. She fell on top of it, laughing.

There was a knock coming from the other side of her wall, "SOME OF US ARE TRYING TO SLEEP HERE!" she heard Jackson's muffled voice shout. "Sorry!" she giggled.

A knock came from the other side of her door this time, "Miles?" she heard her Dad ask. She dove under the covers on her bed, pulling them up to her chin to hide her costume. "Yeah Dad?" she asked.

She heard him huff, "Lily and Oliver are here" he stated. "Thanks Dad! Tell them I'll be down in a few!" she called back to him. There was no response; she figured he had already gone back downstairs. She blew out a sigh of relief; man was she running out of luck these days!

* * *

Miley took the stairs, two at a time. She walked into the kitchen with a smile plastered across her face. "Morning loved ones!" she cheered; sliding onto a stool next to the island. "Morning!" Lily smiled, it looked a little too forced. "So how was your night?" Lily asked curiously. "Not too shabby, not too shabby" Miley answered casually, spooning some of her grape fruit into her mouth. Lily nodded her head, still smiling.

"And…were Demi and Jake there?" Oliver asked, Lily stepped on his foot causing him to squirm in pain.

Miley shot them a confused look, "Um, I don't know. It was a masked ball, I couldn't tell who was who …" Miley shrugged, "Except Selena, she wore her converse under her ball gown" she giggled.

The two friends nodded in unison, looking in opposite directions. "Why? What's up?" Miley asked; her mouth full of grape fruit.

"Well, I took the liberty of getting your mail yesterday afternoon …" Oliver started.

"Ooh! Did Aunt Dolly send me my birthday card, yet? It's 6 months late…" Miley trailed off.

"Miley!" Lily exclaimed, snapping her fingers in front of the girl's face; trying to pull her back into the conversation. "Sorry" Miley blushed, "Her cards are always the best, that's all"

"Hey!" Oliver exclaimed; clearly offended, "And my home made ones, aren't?" he asked.

Lily groaned, "Can we stay on topic here people!?" she grabbed a letter that looked as if already torn open off the counter. "You got a letter Miles" Lily sighed, handing her the letter, "It's from someone named Leslie."

Miley just rolled her eyes, "What a doof" she joked, "If he wanted to talk to me … he could have just texted me!

Oliver knitted his eyebrows together, "You know a guy named Leslie?"

Miley nodded, taking the letter from Lily's hand and removing the message from the envelope.

"Poor kid…didn't even have a chance" Oliver muttered under his breath. Lily just rolled her eyes.

Miley read the letter over. Her facial expression changing every second. From happiness to shock, shock to anger and finally anger to frustration.

"You said you got this yesterday?" she choked back the tears. Lily nodded her head, slowly. Miley lifted herself off the stool, slamming the letter on the table. "Where are you going!?" Oliver asked, starting to follow Miley out the front door. She ran across the street, leaving Oliver behind, "I need to talk to Nick" she growled.

Oliver trudged back into the Stewart's house. Lily picked up the letter,

**Dear Miley, **

**I bet you haven't gotten a letter from me in a while. Shocker, I know. But, I'm not writing to you to catch up on old times. I'm writing to you to discuss some … matters. Your boyfriend Nick must have not told you yet. I'm not surprised, saying her loves you. Yeah, I'm sure he does. If he did love you, he would have told you about what we talked about the other day. I'm telling them Miley. I'm telling everyone your secret. I bet you're wondering why. Well, just go ask Nick. I'm sure you're dieing to know right about now. But, before you go … think about this. There is a way to stop me. But, Nick declined. Too selfish to even consider it.**

**Always,  
****Leslie**

* * *

**Dun. Dun. Dun.  
Looking forward to hear your thoughts! I was absolutely blown away to see all the reviews I got on the last chapter! Thank you sooo much. I loved reading them. You guys are amazing readers!  
****  
xxEmilyKearse**


	26. Play With Fire

_Burn to the sky  
Higher and higher  
Baby, can you play with fire_

Nick ran into the kitchen. "I SMELLED PANCAKES!" he exclaimed, as he watched his mother scrub a few pans in the sink. Joe smiled cheekily over by the kitchen island. "Yup, you smelled them. I ate 'em. Tough luck"

The younger brother glared at Joe and dragged his feet back up the stairs, slamming his door behind him. There was silence before they heard the door reopen and footsteps travel down the stairs. Nick stood in the doorway of the kitchen. Mrs. Jonas sighed, "Yes, I'll make some more…"

"Thanks Mom!" he called after her as he climbed the stairs once again.

"What an imbecile …" Joe chuckled.

Kevin rolled his eyes as he set down 'Entertainment Weekly' back down on the island. "Joe…you probably don't know the definition of 'imbecile'"

"I bet I do!" Joe scoffed. Kevin arched his left eyebrow and looked at Joe expectantly.

"Ok…so maybe I don't"

There was a knock on the door, saving Joe from anymore embarrassing things he could have said. Which could have been a lot …

"Shotee not getting it!" Mrs. Jonas called from the stove, flipping the pancakes over. Joe rolled his eyes as he stood up from the island and walked over towards the door slowly. "Who's Mom says shotee?" he mumbled to himself as he reached out for the handle.

Miley burst through the door before Joe even had a chance to move to the side, pushing him over in the process. "Hey Joe. Hey Kevin. Hey Mrs. Jonas. Hey Frankie and Mr. Jonas, wherever you are. Such a lovely morning, isn't it? Smell the fresh air, hear the birds sing, where's Nick!?" she asked all in one sentence.

"U-upstairs" Joe answered, rubbing his shoulder that she had just bumped into. "Thanks!" she exclaimed, breathless. She ran for the stairs bumping into Joe's same shoulder again, causing him to wince. She climbed the stairs in a hurry and once she got to Nick's door, banged her fists against the wooden door.

Before Nick answered the door, Miley could hear Joe mumbling a few things from downstairs.

"She could be a football player if her singing career doesn't work out. That killed!" she heard Joe say.

The door opened slowly, Miley ran in before it opened all the way. "Jeez Miles!" Nick laughed, "Antsy, are we?" he checked the digital clock next to his bed. "It's only 8…" he muttered, "I just saw you an hour ago, aw did you miss me?" he cooed.

"We need to talk…" she answered darkly. Not finding his joke funny.

He saw the look on her face and gulped, "About…what?" he asked carefully, walking over towards his bed; taking a seat.

"I think you know …"

* * *

Selena pushed the pedals on her bike forward, causing it to go faster. The muscles in her legs felt like they were burning, sweat was dripping from her forehead and her breath was beginning to become short. But, with the wind tangling in and out of her hair and the sweet smell of hydrangeas around, she didn't want to stop.

She decided to take a joy ride on her bicycle on the boardwalk; to see if anything new was opening and just to get out for a little while. She weaved her way through the crowd, making their way towards the park. They were hosting a concert tonight, where everyone would be set up their own picnic and enjoy the sounds of music. Selena was trying to convince Kevin on going with her. She began to slow down as she reached 'Koffee' her favorite coffee shop. She kicked the kick stand and locked her bike up before heading into the small café. Selena made her way for the counter, only to bump into someone on the way. "Oops!" she exclaimed, "I'm sorry!" she blushed.

The boy just smiled, "It's ok" he laughed, "Hey aren't you Selena Gomez?" he asked, lust clouding over his eyes.

Oh boy.

"Mhmm" Selena nodded her head, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. "I'm Ricky" he introduced himself, holding out his hand for her to shake. "Hi" she blushed, then it hit her.

"Hey!" she exclaimed, "You mean, Ricky Ullman?" she asked, clearly interested now. He nodded his head, "Yeah. I guess your name never dies out once you join the Disney family, huh?" he joked.

She just nodded her head and laughed, "Gotta love Disney" she rolled her eyes playfully.

* * *

Lily and Oliver sat on Miley's couch, watching TV. Oliver continuously flipped through the channels, not able to decide on which show to watch.

"Will you pick one already!?" Lily exclaimed.

Oliver snuggled deeper into the couch, "I can't decide" he answered casually.

She sighed, then chucked a pillow at his head. He ducked, dodging it just in time.

"Remember how we were talking about you having anger management problems the other day?" Oliver asked, sitting up right again. Lily just nodded her head, fixing her legs so that she was sitting Indian Style.

"Are we going to have to have that conversation again?" he asked, not joking at all. She just laughed and hit his arm playfully. "Shut up Ollie"

The two grew silent as the TV blasted, Lily snuck glances at the door every few seconds. "I think we'll know when she's back Lils" Oliver joked, not taking his eyes off the television. She bit her nails nervously, "She's been over there for a pretty long time … don't ya think?"

"It's fine. Her and Nick never stay mad at each other for more than 2 hours. Why would this time be any different?"

* * *

"Either way – we lose…" Nick finished, taking in a deep breath, bracing himself for the worst.

"How could they be so cruel?" Miley whispered, a tear sliding down her cheek. Nick walked over towards her, where she sat on the bed. He took a seat next to her, wrapping his well defined arms around her petite frame. "They're terrible people Mi. But, but we have to …" he paused.

"We have to what?" Miley asked, looking up into his eyes. Her blue orbs pooling over with salty tears. "We have to live above this" Nick finished.

"How can we live above this?" she knitted her eyebrows together, pulling away from his grasp and shooting up from the bed. "We have absolutely no choice!" she snapped. She paced back and forth, biting her nails nervously.

She always did that when she was nervous or scared; terrible habit, really.

"Well what else is there to do?" Nick asked, staying in his position on the bed.

Miley thought about this for a second. Bringing her finger to the side of her head and tapping it against her hair. Her eyes brightened and Nick immediately became worried.

That look on Miley's face never meant anything good, "We fight back…"

* * *

"So I'm pretty much debating on leaving or not…since you like Paramore and I think they suck and all" Ricky joked.

"_You're_ debating on leaving?" Selena giggled, "I'm sitting here, talking to a boy who watches CSI and all those criminal shows. I hate em'. They always leave me wanting more …" she laughed.

Ricky smiled as he watched her body sake uncontrollably from the laughing. She was cute. "Hey, you wanna go to that concert in the park tonight?" he asked.

Selena thought about inviting Kevin earlier, but then changed her mind. He'd probably rather go see a movie or something, rather then be surrounded by tons of old people. "I'd love too!" she answered, beaming.

Hopefully Kevin wouldn't mind.

* * *

**Selena, Selena, Selena -- always looking on the bright side. Too bad Kevin's gonna actually be upset about it ... or will he be fine with it? And as for Nick and Miley ... ah, the duo that just never grows old. Watch out Demi and Jake. You play with fire, you usually get burned.**

**xxEmilyKearsexx**


	27. Potential Breakup Song

_You can try  
You can try  
You know that I'd know it'd be a lie  
Without me you're gonna die  
So you better think clearly, clearly  
Before you nearly, nearly bust up the situation  
That you're gonna miss dearly,dearly  
__This is the potential make-up song  
Please just admit you're wrong  
Which will it be  
_

Selena parked her bike on the Jonas' lawn, leaving it lying there. She burst through their front door and ran up to Kevin's room, not even bothering to knock before entering. Kevin sat their by his desk, talking with someone on the phone.

"Saturday? Yeah sounds awesome!" he exclaimed. Selena heard a muffled voice on the other line. "Yup, so I'll see you then? Great" he smiled before hanging up. He turned around in his swivel chair and faced Selena. "Hey" he greeted her, the smile on his face; widening.

"Hey…" she answered, with a hint of suspicion in her voice. "That was Aly" he told her, out of the blue. "Oh ok. I wasn't really wondering …" she lied.

He rolled his eyes, "Uh huh. Sure you weren't" he laughed. She blushed, "Ok so maybe I was…kinda…sorta…you know what? Shut up!" she giggled. He lifted himself off the swivel chair and walked up to her, resting his hands on her shoulders. He leaned down a little, placing a gentle kiss on her cheek; causing her to smile.

"And how is your day so far?" he asked. "Even better, now that I'm with you" she answered, sheepishly. He laughed a little, the two stood in the middle of the room just facing each other.

"I made a friend today!" she smiled. He arched his left eyebrow, playfully. "Oh really?" he asked, she nodded her head while smiling.

"His name is Ricky. He's awesome. Kind of reminds me of Joe" she lied.

Truthfully, he didn't resemble Joe at all. She just didn't want Kevin to get worried about something he didn't need to be concerned about. Ricky was actually the complete opposite. He was serious most of the time – but she noticed his playful side. He had these dimples that appeared when he smiled. A beauty mark placed on his face, which just made him ten times cuter. His laugh made her melt and the way he looked at her didn't make her feel like a child, like Kevin made her feel like sometimes. Sometimes, when they were together she would notice the look in his eyes Kevin got before kissing her. Almost – hesitant. Like he was going to kiss his sister, but it disappeared just as quickly as it had come. She and Ricky had spent two full hours talking in "Koffee". He seemed like an awesome guy and she wanted to get to know him better. That's why she was going tonight.

"Well then, don't let him actually meet Joe!" Kevin joked, his facial expressions relaxing, "Other wise it'll become a zoo"

"When is it not like a zoo here?" she giggled, "We're going to that concert tonight in the park, since I figured I'd cut you some slack and let you off the hook" she paused, "just this one time though…" she glared at him playfully.

He put his hands up in the air; surrendering. "Thank you officer Selena" he joked.

"So you're ok with it?" she asked hopefully.

There was silence for a moment before he answered, "Of course I am, why wouldn't I be?" he smiled, but something in his eyes told her otherwise.

* * *

"Full house" Joe smiled deviously as he placed the hand of cards on the table, face up. Lily sighed, slapping her hand of cards on the table as well.

"You win … again" she rolled her eyes. "The way it should be…" he smiled.

Lily giggled at his immature behavior. "Popcorn?" she asked. "Yes please!" he exclaimed, lifting himself up from the kitchen table and following her towards the microwave. She turned around to go back and grab her cell phone off the table and accidentally bumped into Joe.

"Hey, watch where you're going hot stuff!" he joked as she fell into his arms.

"What are you a dog? Stop wagging that tail!" she cracked up.

"We need to work on your pick up lines…" he laughed.

She silenced his laughter with a kiss which he gladly accepted. They pulled away and Lily snuggled her head into the crook of Joe's neck. He placed a gentle kiss on the top of her head.

"You talked to AJ?" she asked.

Joe tensed up a bit and Lily noticed, but didn't say anything. "Yeah, yeah … I talked to her" he lied.

* * *

Oliver and Becca sat at a table, near Rico's shack sharing a plate of nachos. "You're-you're what?" Oliver asked, shocked. Becca avoided eye contact with him. "It wasn't my choice…"

"How can she just do that? A day? One freakin day!?" Oliver exclaimed.

Becca bowed her head, "I don't want to move to North Carolina. But, it's my Mom. What else can I do?"

Oliver lifted her chin with his index finger, "But, we just got back together.." he whispered.

She nodded her head, her eyes becoming glossy. "I want to still be with you. But…I don't want you to be attached. Long distance relationships never work" she sighed.

He nodded his head, "So that's it?" he cried, "we're done?"

"I guess so."

* * *

Miley fluffed her 'Hannah' wig up, pulled a mirror out of her pocket; checked her make up and then smiled approvingly. She quickly stuffed the small compact mirror back into her pink skinny jeans and took a deep breath. She straightened out her white leather jacket and knocked on the door.

No answer.

She knocked once more, hearing footsteps on the other side of the door. "I'M COMING!" she heard the girl scream.

She knocked a few more times; time to kick it into full gear.

"I SAID I'M COMING!" she exclaimed. Hannah worked on her tears, letting them flow freely. She was pretty good at acting …

The door swung open, a shocked look coming across the girl's face. "Hannah?" she asked, hesitantly.

Hannah rushed into the house, leaving all her manners outside. "I can't believe he broke up with me!" she exclaimed, sobbing louder now.

"Um, are you sure you have the right address? I don't think you're supposed to be here" Demi knitted her eyebrows together.

"Nick! He broke up with me!" she exclaimed, sucking in deep breaths; a knot in her throat. "And I should care…why?" she asked, sighing in frustration. "Because he broke up with me because of you!" she exclaimed, throwing her hands up in the air.

Demi looked taken aback, "he did?" she asked, trying to hide the smile forming on her face. "Yeah, he said you had a beautiful voice and were just stunning and that … WHY AM I TELLING YOU THIS!?" the tears rolled down her face at a fast speed.

Demi smirked, "Don't feel bad hun…"

Hannah pushed her way past Demi and made a B-line for the door, she stopped in the entrance way and turned around slowly, wiping the tears away. "I just came here to tell you, you won."

She made her way out of the house and made her way down the walkway. "HAVE A NICE DAY!" Demi called after her, smiling. She then closed the door, leaving Hannah outside.

Hannah wiped her "tears" away with the sleeve of her jacket and ran for the car, waiting for her by the corner.

She hopped into the front seat and they sped off. "Tell me why I needed to drive you two here again?" Jackson groaned, eyeing Miley in the front seat and Nick in the back.

"Just a little business we needed to take care of…" Hannah giggled, flashing a smile to Nick in the backseat.

* * *

AJ skipped into the park, picnic basket in one hand, a blanket in the other. She saw Joe, standing under a tree and waving her over. "JOE!" she exclaimed, making her way over towards the tree. "Hi…" he smiled shyly. She went to lean and plant a soft kiss on his lips when he took a step backwards. She pulled away confused, "Is there something wrong?" she asked, confused.

"Uh, we need to talk…" he sighed.

"About what?" AJ asked hesitantly.

"Well I wanted to talk about…" Joe paused, "SELENA!"

AJ knitted her eyebrows together, "What does Selena have to do with anything?"

"No, no, no" Joe shook his head, he turned her around to face the stage, "Selena's over there!"

"So?" AJ asked, getting more confused by the second.

"She's here with someone – not my brother" he watched her suspiciously as she laughed at what the boy was saying. The two were sitting at a picnic table eating goldfish out of a plastic bag. The boy threw one at her head, causing her to double over in laughter.

"Joe." AJ snapped her fingers in front of his face, causing his day dream to end quickly, "Huh?" he snapped out of it.

"What did you want to talk about?" she asked again.

"I uh, I wanted to talk about us" he said.

AJ's heart stopped and his voice became blurry as he tried to explain why. But, she couldn't hear anything, but her thoughts. So, he wanted to break up with her? Why? Had she done something wrong? They were just fine…

"And she means a lot to me…" he finished as she finally tuned in.

She didn't have to listen to his "break up speech" to know who he was talking about. Even when they had gone out in the earlier days she knew he had always wanted Lily. Just had never realized it …

"I need to go" she muttered. Turning to leave, he stopped her.

"This doesn't mean our friendship is over, does it?" he pleaded.

AJ didn't know what to say. She didn't have the answer to that question right now, "I'll get back to you on that…" she sighed, walking away.

* * *

Oliver walked into the park, figuring he'd just take a walk and clear his mind. Figures the one night he wants to go to the only place where you can think, there's a concert going on. He saw the perfect sitting spot by the back of the park. A short, stone wall. The perfect thinking place. He walked closer to the wall and noticed a girl there, one of his old friends.

"Hey AJ" Oliver sighed, taking a seat on the stone wall next to the girl. "Hey Oliver" AJ whispered, keeping her gaze locked on the ground. "Joe break up with you?" Oliver guessed. AJ nodded her head, "And you?"

"Becca, she's moving tomorrow" Oliver sighed, running a hand through his shaggy hair. "Hurts, doesn't it?" she asked, looking up with him. "You have no idea…" he shook his head.

"Actually," she laughed bitterly, "I think I do"

Oliver looked up and connected eyes with her, "Want to hurt together?" he tried. She smiled up at him and nodded her head, "I think I'd like that…"

"Grey's Anatomy marathon and 3 buckets of coffee ice cream?" Oliver asked, slightly smiling at her. "The cure to a broken heart…" AJ giggled softly, wiping away a few stray tears.

* * *

**It's almost 11 on a school night and I am wiped! But, I figured .. I'll post this next chapter as a treat. Why not? Right? Well, I think it's time to go to bed since I have to get up at like 6 FREAKING AM tomorrow! Lol.**

**xxEmilyKearsexx**


	28. Love Lockdown

_Im not lovin you, the way I wanted to  
What I had to do, had to run from you  
Im in love with you, but the vibe is wrong  
And that haunted me, all the way home_

It had been two days since Demi found Hannah Montana washed up on her front porch step and she was still has happy as could be. Demi walked with a bounce to her step into the local diner to meet her boyfriend Jake. She pushed open the double doors and the smell of coffee and eggs immediately flew up to her nostrils. She looked around the diner, analyzing all the booths; trying to find Jake. She finally saw him stand up from his seat and wave her over. She began to walk over, but stopped in her tracks.

She had just realized something, how could she be such an idiot!?

How could Hannah have gone out with Nick…? When Miley was going out with him?

* * *

"Two days" AJ shook her head slowly, her long blond hair falling into her face. "It's been two days and we're still on this couch…" she sighed.

Oliver just slouched lower into the couch, next to AJ. "And?" he asked glumly.

"Shouldn't we get out?" she asked, turning her head to face the boy she had been spending the past 48 hours with. Oliver shrugged his shoulders, "does it really matter? We don't have anyone looking for us…"

AJ fixated her gaze back onto the television screen, "True" she sighed. She lent over towards the coffee table in front of them and picked up the ice cream carton, spooning a mouthful into her mouth. "I think I gained about 5 pounds" she giggled slightly.

Oliver smiled, "Good thing I don't wear skinny jeans like the Jonas…" he stopped himself.

AJ's smile disappeared and tears pricked her eyes, she quickly wiped them away though. "It's ok" she smiled, trying to reassure him, "I'm fine. We're over that, right? We're stronger than that!"

He nodded his head and lent over to grab the other ice cream carton, "To being strong…" he smiled while raising the carton into the air. "To being strong" AJ confirmed, raising her carton into the air as well and clinking the two together.

* * *

Selena and Ricky sat at a table, drinking coffee at "Koffee". "I think we need to find a new meeting place" Selena giggled. Ricky looked shocked, "No way!" he exclaimed, "This is our place! No way in heck are we changing it" he laughed. She nodded her head happily as her phone began to vibrate.

"Excuse me" she apologized, as she lifted herself up from the table and walked over towards the back restrooms where she could have some privacy. "Hey Kev" she exclaimed into the phone.

"Hey Selena" he laughed into the phone, she smiled at the sweet sound. "Where are you?" he asked, "I was thinking we could go down to the CD store and just hang out for a little while, since we have a busy schedule tomorrow" Kevin offered.

Selena bit her lip, debating on what to do. She looked back at Ricky who was sitting over by their table, playing with a napkin.

"I'm actually with a friend right now." Selena sighed. "Oh.." Kevin replied, "Another time then…?" he asked confused.

"Yeah" Selena sighed, "Another time"

She hung up her phone, feeling as if she had just betrayed Kevin. Why was she feeling like this? She hadn't done anything wrong. She was just simply hanging around with her friend, Ricky. She directed her gaze towards the boy and he made eye contact as well. He smiled up at her, causing those adorable dimples to appear. Was having a small crush on a boy you had just met a few days ago a crime?

In Kevin Jonas' and Selena Gomez's book – Yes, yes it was.

* * *

"Please, please, please!?" Miley asked, displaying the cutest pout that was manageable. Nick sighed, he really didn't want to do this, but who could resist that? "Why do you want me to go so badly?" he groaned, "Because…I don't want to be alone."

Nick knitted his eyebrows together, "But, you'll have Lily and Joe" he pointed out. Miley rolled her eyes, "You did not just say that…" she gaped.

It then clicked in his mind what he had just implied, Lily and Joe had been all over each other the past few days, it was sickening. Everyone had told him and Miley that they were so sweet it was nauseating, but Lily and Joe were just freakin' annoying.

"Fine, "he gave in, "I'll go"

"Thank you!" Miley exclaimed, jumping into his welcoming arms. The two were in the Jonas' backyard, in their bathing suits and resting by the pool. It was now spring time and school would be ending soon, but not quick enough for Miley's liking. "So this thing Saturday, a lot of people are going?" he asked, while climbing onto the same lounge chair as Miley. He lay down as she climbed on top of him, just simply resting her head on his chest. "Mhmm" she answered while drawing imaginary lines over his well-defined chest. He shuttered under her touch, "Like who?" he asked, trying to not think about the beautiful girl in his arms, so he wouldn't have the urge to kiss her. He knew his father was watching them from the kitchen window. Usually Frankie would be spying on them as well, but he had a play date with his friend James today.

"Kevin's taking Aly, said Selena had plans. Weird, right?" she scrunched her nose up, confused. He loved when she did that. "And Taylor's gonna be there …" Miley's voice trailed off.

Another girl Joe had history with. How many girls _had_ he been with?

Taylor Swift had to be one of the sweetest girls the group had ever met. See, the problem was Taylor and Joe _never_ had problems. They had an amazing relationship, full of laughs and good times. The reason they had to end it was because the two thought they didn't want to strain their friendship. If a fight did occur, it could hurt their friendship terribly. So they ended it.

"When will this drama end?" Nick sighed, falling back onto the chair. Miley giggled and gently placed butterfly kisses across his open chest. He groaned in agony, and then took a quick look over towards the kitchen window. Sure enough Mr. Jonas was cleaning dishes and "casually" looking over at them. Nick shot up off the chair, causing Miley to fall. He laughed while picking her up and dragging her over towards their shed.

"I knew you couldn't resist me for too long" she smiled, smugly.

He just glared at her as he pulled her into the shed.

* * *

Oliver and AJ walked side by side along the water side. The sand between their toes and the water washing up to their ankles. "Question 6…" Oliver started.

AJ started running before he could continue, placed her hands out in front of her and ran into a cartwheel. She came up smiling, he ran up to her laughing. "Hey! Don't leave me hangin'!"

AJ giggled, "It was tempting…" she smiled deviously. He just rolled his eyes, "So as I was saying, before I was_ so rudely interrupted!" _he playfully glared at her.

She just giggled as the two started walking again. "Which would you pick: snowboarding or skateboarding?"

She knitted her eyebrows together and tapped her index finger against her chin; thinking, "No comparison, skateboarding all the way" she exclaimed.

Oliver's eyes lit up, "AJ…I think this is a start to a better, beautiful friendship"

* * *

Joe watched as Lily released the bowling ball. It went swirling down the lane and hit the pins, causing 9 of them to fall. "WOO!" Lily exclaimed, doing a little victory dance. "I can beat that easily" Joe piped in, interrupting her dance. Lily stopped in her tracks and looked over at him, "I don't believe it" she tested him.

The corners of Joe's lips slowly pulled into a smile, "Try me"

Lily walked over towards the scoreboard and sat there patiently as Joe walked over towards the lane. He polished off his lucky green ball and got into position. He took a deep breath before stretching his legs out and positioning the ball in between them, practically sticking his butt out. Lily burst out into laughter, causing Joe to lose his focus. "I'm trying to work here!" he called back to her, wiggling his butt. This only made Lily laugh louder and fall out of her seat.

He just ignored her and released the ball, it slowly inched its way towards the gutter and finally fell into the space. "Crap" Joe muttered to himself as he walked back to Lily. She rose from the floor, trying to supress the giggles.

"You distracted me" he pouted.

"I did not!" she defended herself, "You were shaking your butt. I'm sorry, but that is just pure gold right there!" she giggled.

He rolled his eyes and placed a light kiss on her cheek , "Rematch?" he offered.

She groaned playfully, "Only because I like you" she teased.

* * *

"Really?" Jake asked in amazement, how stupid could this girl be?

"Yeah!" Demi exclaimed, completely amazed by her assumptions. "Hannah and Miley _have_ to be working together! Why else would Hannah say that?"

Jake just shook his head, this girl was unbelievable.

"But, what would Miley have against me?" she knitted her eyebrows together and tapped her fingers against the diner's table. "Unless…!" Demi exclaimed, pointing her finger into the air.

Jake's eyes lit up, hopefully she had figured it out. "Unless," she repeated, "Hannah asked Miley if she could borrow Nick for a little while to make me jealous and ruin my career!" Demi's smile brightened, thinking she had figured it all out.

"Yeah, sure that's it" Jake replied, dryly.

Why was he going out with her again?

* * *

**I've been busy lately, so I haven't had the time to update as MUCH as I usually do. :) Tell me what you think about this is your reviews!**

**xxEmilyKearsexx**


	29. Strawberry Swing

__

People moving all the time  
Inside a perfect straight line  
Don't you wanna curve away  
It's such it's such a perfect day  
It's such a perfect day

"_I want you" she heard Nick whisper. She turned around to find no one there. "I need you" the voice whispered again. The room was pitch black, she could see nothing. "Nick?" she asked._

_Pure silence._

"_Miley…" the voice called, "I want you"_

"_What do you mean?" she asked frightened, trying to find the light switch, but found nothing but darkness._

"_I need you…" it whispered seductively. _

Miley shot up from her bed in a deep sweat. It was a dream. But, it felt so real. What did Nick mean? What was he implying? Didn't they have purity rings? Weren't they trying to save themselves? Miley slowly fell back down onto her pillow, which cushioned her head and brunette locks. Her breathing slowed to a calm pace and the sweat on her brow began to dry.

What was her dream telling her?

xx

She woke up a few hours later to find Nick climbing into her bedroom window, she rubbed her eyes to make sure she was awake. She didn't want a repeat from before.

"Nick?" she whispered.

"Hey" he smiled, stumbling through the window.

"What are you doing here?" she asked, sitting up in her bed. He finally pulled his other leg through and planted his feet firmly onto the floor. "I wanted to see you" he stated, flashing her a toothy smile. She squirmed uncomfortably in her bed. Was it just her imagination or was that really what Nick wanted?

"You wanted to see me?" she asked hesitantly. He gave her a strange look as he made his way towards Miley's bed, "Uh, yeah. Is that such a crime?" he knitted his eyebrows together, "and besides Joe was spazzing out on me when I fell through the window before, waking him up. He told me that if I went to the warehouse that I wasn't allowed to wake him up…or else" Nick laughed as he sat down on the bed by Miley's feet.

She secretly let out a sigh of relief, _that's_why he was here. "He started snoring and I couldn't sleep" Nick added. Miley nodded her head and patted the empty space on the bed next to her. He crawled over to the spot and lay down, his nose in her brunette locks; smelling the sweet sensation of her scent. "Sing me to sleep?" she asked, her eyes fluttering open then closed. "Anything for you" he replied sweetly.

Miley fell asleep to Nick's calming voice, singing one of her favorite tunes.

_If I traded it all  
If I gave it all away for one thing  
Just for one thing  
If I sorted it out  
If I knew all about this one thing  
Wouldn't that be something_

* * *

"So how was work yesterday?" Kevin asked as he took a sip of his smoothie. He and Selena were sitting at Rico's shack, just chatting. "It was great" Selena smiled, taking a napkin a bringing it to Kevin's lips, wiping away the leftover smoothie he left there. He laughed once she took it away, crumpled it up and lay it down on the counter top. "Thanks" he muttered, embarrassed, "So Jake and David are fine?" he asked, getting back on topic. Selena immediately started to crack up, confusing Kevin. "Long story" she giggled, "David stole Jake's candy basket that he got for his birthday last week so Jake ended up mooning David while he tried to flirt with Sara Paxton who was guest starring on that episode. It was priceless" Selena managed to get out in between laughs.

Kevin smiled, picturing the whole thing. "Jake and his candy" he shook his head. Selena nodded, beaming. Her phone started ringing, causing both of them to jump. She reached into her brown fringe purse and pulled out her cell phone. "Sorry" she mouthed to Kevin as she answered. He just nodded and sipped some more of his smoothie. "Hello?" she answered; there was a muffled voice on the other end.

"An emergency?" her heart began to race, "What kind of an emergency?" Kevin watched her intently, hopefully it wasn't too bad. "Yeah, yeah I'll be right there!" she answered quickly. She snapped her phone shut and then stuffed it back into her purse. "I've got to go" she exclaimed, hopping off the stool and gathering her things together. Kevin shot up off his stool, "What's up?" he asked.

"Ricky's in trouble I guess. He needs my help. I'm so sorry!" she apologized. Kevin's face fell, "Yeah, that's fine. Go on ahead. I'll just see you later, I guess" Selena nodded, kissed his cheek and then ran off.

Leaving Kevin alone, again.

He pulled out his cell phone and dialed a familiar number. "Hello?" the person picked up. He walked back over towards his stool and sat upon it. "Hey Aly" he smiled, "Got any plans today?"

* * *

"Where are you going?" Demi asked. She and Jake were currently sitting in her dressing room, she was guest starring on "The Suite Life of Zack and Cody" today. "I need to go and see an old friend" he answered walking out of the room.

Demi shrugged and flipped open her phone, searching her contacts until she finally found a certain number..

"Hi" she exclaimed into the cell phone. "She's coming?" she asked, smiling. "Perfect."

"I'm not sure if I feel ok doing this" the person sighed.

Demi's eyes widened, they couldn't back out now! "No! You need to do this! We're taking them down, piece by piece."

He sighed into the phone, "Fine. I'll tell you how it goes. Bye Demi"

She smirked, "Bye Ricky"

* * *

Miley and Nick lay side by side on her bed. He was twirling his finger around her smooth, silky locks as the two laughed. "So then Joe fell out of the bed and ran down the stairs expecting pancakes" Nick laughed. Miley burst out into laughter, "But, instead he was surprised with tons of his friends in party hats wishing him a happy birthday while he was in just boxers!" Miley finished for him. "Those were the days…" Nick's voice trailed off.

There was a knock on Miley's door. "Miles…" Robby Ray hesitated, "You got a visitor"

She knitted her eyebrows together as the two rose from the bed. It was 10 am, who would be coming to see her. It obviously wasn't Lily, Oliver or Selena. So who else could it be?

"Ok" she called back to her dad, she swung her legs over the side of her bed and planted them onto the cold hard wood flooring. "Have you seen my-" she started, but stopped when Nick shoved her slippers in her face. She threw him a thankful smile, "thanks"

He nodded his head and made his way towards the window, "See you in a few?" he smiled.

She nodded her head as she walked towards him. Miley placed her soft hand on his cheek and placed a light kiss on his lips. She began to pull away as he grabbed her wrist and pulled him back to him. He connected their lips once more, putting passion and emotion into the kiss. She pulled away with a goofy smile on her face. "Bye Mi" he laughed, disappearing into the morning light.

She was so happy and light-hearted that she skipped the whole way down the hallway, down the stairs and into the living room. "Morning Daddy!" she exclaimed in a sing-song voice.

"Morning Miley" the voice answered, but it wasn't her Dad's voice.

She turned her head to find Jake Ryan sitting on _her_ couch in _her_ living room drinking out of one of _her_ mugs.

* * *

AJ tossed and turned in her bed, trying to shake her sister off her. "Aly!" she grumbled, "Get off me"

Aly just laughed as she continued to shake her sister, "Mom and Dad sent me in here to wake you up. I'm just doing my job" she smiled, pleasantly, but then finally gave up and collapsed onto the bed next to her sister. The two let out a tired yawn in unison and then laughed tiredly. "Next time, we don't stay up till 3 am watching old reruns of Fresh Prince" AJ laughed.

Her sister nodded her head slowly, her eyes slowly closing. A big bang on the door woke both of them up. "MOM! DAD! I GOT HER UP ALREADY!" Aly shouted towards the door. The door swung open and in walked Oliver and Kevin.

"Is that how you talk to the woman who gave you life?" Oliver asked using a high pitched voice and placing his hands on his hips. "I DON'T TALK LIKE THAT!" they heard Mrs. Michalka call up the stairs. The four broke out into laughter. "What are you guys doing here?" AJ asked, sitting up in her bed; now smiling. "We were thinking…" Oliver started. "And we thought we all needed a day off" Kevin finished.

"From what?" Aly knitted her eyebrows together.

Kevin and Oliver turned their heads to face each other and smiled, "Life" they replied in unison.

"And how do you expect us to do that?" AJ giggled.

"Anyone in the mood for… drum roll please!" Kevin exclaimed. Oliver started smacking his chest and beat boxing, trying to work up the "crowd".

"SIX FLAGS!" Kevin exclaimed.

AJ and Aly's smiles widened, that's exactly what the four of them needed.

* * *

"I am so excited for tomorrow!" Lily exclaimed, smiling like crazy.

"Why?" Joe asked, taking a bite out of his English muffin.

The two were sitting at the Jonas' kitchen eating brunch. "Because..!" Lily rolled her eyes, "It's Tracy's party and I heard Taylor Swift is gonna be there! I've always wanted to meet her!" Lily gushed.

Joe tensed up for a moment, but then relaxed, "Oh yeah, me too" he muttered.

Lily had been friends with the Jonas' for a long time. She had been there through the whole AJ relationship and many other ones, but she hadn't been around for Taylor. That was about 3 years ago.

She was visiting her Dad in Wisconsin; it was during the early years of her parent's divorce. Taylor and he had gone out for a couple months. But, broke it off a few weeks before Lily returned thinking they were better off as friends. He had never told Lily about it, thinking it wasn't a big deal.

Until now.

* * *

Selena rushed into "Koffee" to find Ricky there, sitting by a table; cradling his head in his hands. "Ricky!" she exclaimed, running over towards him and sliding into the seat directly across from him. He looked up, his eyes red. "What's wrong?" she asked worriedly. "I've been thinking a lot lately. That's the problem" he laughed.

She rolled her eyes, "You should meet my friend Miley then. When she's alone with her thoughts, hell breaks loose" she laughs, but then becomes serious again. "You said it was an emergency" she confirmed. He nodded and then slid his hand across the table, taking her hand in his. She pulled away feeling uncomfortable. "I've been thinking…" he started, "about you"

Selena fidgeted in her seat, "About me?" she squeaked out. He nodded his head, he leaned across the table, capturing her lips in a kiss.

* * *

**Lots of drama in this chapter. Will it ever end? When I was writing this I kept thinking of the song where it goes "Why can't we be friends? Why can't we be friends?" Lol. The question of the moment.**

**xxEmilyKearsexx**


	30. All Good Things Come to an End

_Flames to dust  
Lovers to friends  
Why do all good things come to an end?_

Music was pounding through the speakers, causing the floor to shake and the people on the dance floor's dancing to become quicker. The sound bounced off the walls and made their way through Hannah's ear drums, causing her to shiver with excitement.

"I love parties!" she exclaimed, rocking back and forth on her toes.

Selena stood next to her, looking around the room nervously. "Have you seen Kevin?" she asked. Hannah shook her head, still smiling. "Haven't seen him since yesterday" Hannah answered, now looking over towards the dance floor longingly. "Well, maybe I should go look for him …" Selena started. Hannah grabbed her arm, holding her back. "No! Come on, let's go dance!" she was beaming.

"Don't you wanna find the guys though?" Selena knitted her eyebrows together. Hannah continued to pull her towards the dance floor, "We don't need guys to have fun!" she shouted over the blaring music.

Selena shrugged her shoulders and moved her body to the music, forgetting all her worries and just focusing on the beat of the music.

* * *

Demi strutted into the party, flipping her hair over her shoulder in the process. She smiled to a few other people and then made her way over towards Jake who was talking to Ashley Tisdale. "That's why you took Frankie Munez's spot? Wow, so how was Romania?" Ashley asked, excited now. Demi tapped him on the shoulder, "Excuse me one second" he smiled politely; turning away from Ashley. "What?" he growled, turning to face Demi. "Oh, it's you!" his mood changing quickly.

She smiled at the boy, "How was your talk with your friend?" she asked, bashing her eyelashes flirtatiously. "Oh, it was …" he paused, "interesting". He thought back to the other day, things hadn't gone exactly the way he had planned.

Let's just say trying to win back Miley's love and trust are two of the most hardest things you'll ever have to do in life. He didn't even succeed. "Wanna go sit over by the tables?" Jake asked. "What!?" Demi asked, cupping her hands over her mouth. "I said! Want to go sit over by the tables!?" he asked, raising his voice. Demi made an 'O' shape with her mouth, "Sure!" she smiled, linking their arms.

As the two made their way towards the VIP section, Jake snuck a quick glance over towards the dance floor; finding Hannah and Selena spinning each other round, smiling and laughing. He wished he could get back to the old days where that used to be him with the crowd of happy people. Him, laughing and smiling, dancing as if there were no worries in the world. Him, with Miley; being able to kiss her whenever he pleased. But, other people had that job now.

Selena to make her smile.

Nick to kiss and protect her.

Joe to make her laugh.

Lily to share her secrets with.

Kevin to help make her stronger; build her confidence.

Oliver to make her feel warm and fuzzy inside.

There was no more room for him in her life anymore. All the slots filled, all the positions taken. Jake Ryan was no longer needed.

* * *

"LILY!" Hannah exclaimed, calling her best friend over. Lily continued walking with Joe, Kevin and Aly. Hannah squeezed her way through her crowd, holding Selena's hand so she wouldn't lose her. "This is like a maze!" Selena giggled, following Hannah through the crowd of people. They passed Blake Lively and Penn Badgley who were grinding and began to snicker, "That's gonna be us in a couple years…" Hannah joked. Selena gave her a look, "Honey, that's us now!" she exclaimed, pointing over towards Oliver and AJ on the other end of the room.

Hannah's jaw nearly hit the floor, what happened to Oliver calling them just friends?

Selena saw that Hannah wasn't moving from her position anytime soon and was getting sick of people pushing up against her so she grabbed Hannah's hand once again and pulled her through the crowd until they were finally free. Selena took in a deep breath, "Can you smell that?" she asked Hannah. Hannah knitted her eyebrows together, "Uh, sweat and fruity drinks?" she tried. "No silly!" Selena laughed, "FREEDOM!" she threw her hands into the air.

The blond copied the brunette and the two waved their hands in the air, shouting "freedom". They earned a few stares from people around, but they didn't care. "Oohh I spot Lily!" Hannah shouted over the music. The two ran for the VIP section, tripping over their heels a few times and cracking up along the way. "Are we drunk?" Hannah joked. "Remind me to never have 8 shirley temples ever again!" Selena snorted.

"Hey!" Joe waved them over. "Hi!" the two greeted in unison, both waving their hands. The two immediately cracked up. Lily looked at them, a casual look on her face. "You two had some shirely temples … didn't you?"

Hannah nodded her head rapidly as Selena leaned against the table, trying to hold herself up. "I think you need to sit…" Kevin laughed, getting up from his seat and offering it to Selena. She gladly accepted, "Thanks" she blushed. Hannah ignored their offer, "I'm gonna go back to the dance floor. Lils, wanna come?" she smiled. Lily's eyes brightened, "Sure!"

The two glided towards the floor and started moving their hips to the rhythm. Hannah swayed back in forth, getting lost inside the music. She closed her eyes, a smile splaying across her lips. She just wanted to lose herself tonight. Drown herself in the lyrics, forget all logic and just go where the beat takes her – and most importantly … have fun.

* * *

Nick ran into the party a half hour late. His dad held him back, having to "talk" to him about the other day, regarding the pool, shed and Miley. It was by far one of the most awkward talks he had, had with his father ever. He accidentally bumped into someone while making his way through the crowd. "I'm sorry!" he apologized, helping the stranger regain their composure. But, he would recognize that wavy blond hair anywhere. "Taylor!" he exclaimed. Taylor was glowing by the time she looked up at the 3rd youngest Jonas Brother. "Nick!" she smiled. "Wow! How are you?" he asked, smiling a real smile the first time that night.

Usually when he came to these things, he never really enjoyed himself. He would always have to fake his happiness so other people wouldn't ask him questions. Miley could always tell and sometimes even his brothers, but no one else could see what was hiding behind that smile of his. Miley always ended up fixing it though and by the end of the night she would have made him smile a real smile at least 10 times. She had a way of doing that.

"I'm AH-MAZ-ING!" she exclaimed, rocking back on her heels. Nick laughed slightly, "I see you've already had a few shirley temples with Miley already" Taylor's smile widened, "No! Actually, I've had a few, but not with Miley! Is she here yet?" she was jumping up and down now. Put Hannah and Taylor together and you had trouble.

"I'm actually looking for her myself…" Nick's voice trailed off. The two looked around the room, the flashing lights were not exactly helping. You could only see a face clearly for about a second before the room went pitch black again. The song changed to "I'm Back" by Ashley Tisdale causing a few "WOOHOO's" to go around the room. Ashley just blushed over by the DJ and continued talking to Vanessa and her boyfriend, Jared.

"I think I see her!" Taylor exclaimed, pulling Nick along with her as she weaved in and out of the crowd. They finally stopped in front of a group of 8 or 9 people. "Where'd you see her?" he knitted his eyebrows together. "She's inside the circle" Taylor giggled.

Nick made his way through the human-made circle and smiled. There, Hannah and Selena danced the night away, twirling, dipping and laughing. "Nick!" Hannah exclaimed, running into his arms. The people eventually cleared away, seeing as the fun was done. "I see you're enjoying yourself" he joked. She just rolled her eyes, pulling him closer. He involuntarily inhaled the scent of her hair, but was met with nothing. He liked her brunette locks more, they were real. Unlike Hannah who was just another mask for Miley. Covering up her true beauty.

"I wanna dance" Hannah whispered into his ear, causing him to shake. Selena stood awkwardly to the side. Taylor joined her, "I'm Taylor" she greeted, sticking out her hand in front of her body for Selena to shake. Selena smiled, "Selena" she introduced herself. The two smiled, "So you're friends with Hannah?" Taylor asked. Selena turned towards Hannah and smiled, "Practically sisters"

* * *

Joe watched Lily dance with Oliver and AJ. It was weird seeing Lily and AJ interact again. It was even weirder seeing them be civil, like actually hold a calm conversation.

Lily laughed at something AJ said as she shook her hips. "Weird…" Joe muttered under his breath. He then brought his attention back to his brother and Aly, sitting across from him at the table. "Oh my gosh…" Aly whispered. "What?" Kevin asked her. "It's Taylor!" she exclaimed. Aly slid out of the seat and ran towards the blond.

It was as if everyone was excited to see Taylor again, even Joe. The old group was coming back together. For years it had always been Joe, Nick, Miley, Taylor, AJ, Aly, Oliver and Lily. Kevin didn't hang out with them as much as he does now and Selena hadn't been introduced to Hollywood life yet. It seemed as if everyone was showing up for a reunion again. Usually, Joe would be scared about what Lily would think. But, Lily used to be extremely close with Taylor, same as Miley. They just … drifted apart, he guessed.

* * *

Selena wandered aimlessly around the party. Taylor had scooped up all her friends attention, leaving her alone. She spotted Jake and Demi sitting at a table, talking to a group of people. It didn't matter who, she wasn't going over there. Selena's thoughts went back to the other day when Ricky kissed her. Her mind had gone numb when that had happened and it felt as if her brain was dislocated from her body.

_Selena pulled away quickly, shooting up from her seat. Her hand flew up to her mouth. Ricky immediately got up after her, walking over towards her mumbling tons of meaningless words. "I'm so sorry!" he apologized, "I had no right to do that!" _

_She backed away slowly from him, not saying a word. There was nothing she could say to describe what she was feeling._

_Anger, frustration, confusion ... lust?_

_"Selena? Did you hear me? I'm sorry!" Ricky apologized over and over again, "I didn't mean-"_

_She cut him off, "Just stay away..." she whispered, it was barely audible._

_"Huh?" he asked, closing in on her. "Wait, no! Don't shut me out like that! I just couldn't control myself and I-"_

_"Just stay away" she stated this time with much more force._

_She had to get out of there, away from him and closer to Kevin. He was her safety net, always there to catch her if she fell ... and right now she was falling, fast._

xx

_He was all she could think about. Selena didn't know how exactly she got to the Jonas', but there she stood -- outside their front porch step, knocking on the door. Mrs. Jonas answered, a smile plastered across her face._

_"Selena!" she smiled brightly, "Haven't seen you round here in a while"_

_Selena blushed as she stepped into the house, "I've just been a little busy lately. But, I'm good now. Um, is Kevin home?"_

_Mrs. Jonas nodded, "Yup, he's upstairs..."_

_She climbed the stairs, two at a time; not stopping to admire the posters or the pictures of she, Miley and Frankie at the town's carnival on Frankie's door. She just walked straight towards Kevin's door and knocked, waiting for an answer. "COME IN!" she heard him call. She turned the knob and entered the room, closing the door behind her. "Hi" she practically whispered. He turned around in his swivel chair, towards her. "Hey" he greeted her._

_"I um, just wanted to ... I needed to see you" she cried. The tears came now; streaming down her face. They wouldn't stop. Kevin immediately jumped up from his seat and pulled her towards his bed, setting her down into his lap and rubbing her back. "Shh...it's ok" he whispered into her ear, continuing to rub her back; trying to calm her. _

_"NO!" she argued, "It's not ok!" _

_Kevin knitted his eyebrows together, "What's wrong?"_

_"I'm a terrible person. That's what!" _

_"Tell me what happened" he reasoned._

_"It wasn't supposed to happen. He called, saying it was an emergency. I got scared and I-I didn't know what to do. Please Kevin, please don't be mad!" the hot tears burned against her cheeks, they felt as if they were acid._

_"You're not making any sense" Kevin stated, confused now._

_"He kissed me" Selena whispered, "a-and I didn't pull away until I finally realized what I was doing"_

_Kevin sighed, "I'm guessing you're talking about Ricky..."_

_She nodded her head, ashamed. "It's ok Selena" _

_His confession confused her, "What?" she asked, "You're not mad at me?" _

_"Yes, I am mad." he reasoned. She bowed her head, ready for the worst. "Maybe...maybe we should just take a break"_

_Her head snapped up, "No!" she exclaimed, "I need you!" she cried._

_He got up from the bed and walked over towards the door, "It's not permanent" he reasoned, "Just...just temporary." He opened the door, for her to leave._

_The tears slowed, but the pain still remained. She made her way towards the door, her heart breaking into smaller pieces with each step she took._

_"I still want you" she whispered, "Only you" before leaving his room, and leaving his life .. "temporarily" that is._

Selena made her way for the exit, she couldn't take this party any longer. Miley might have distracted her for a little while, but Miley was off with her other friends now and Selena was alone. Alone with her thoughts.

Oh god, Miley must have been rubbing off on her.

* * *

"Why haven't you called? Why haven't you texted? Why haven't you emailed? You know what? I'm just gonna shut up and hug you!" Aly stopped herself, wrapping her arms around Taylor's tiny frame.

Taylor laughed at Aly's attitude. "Al, I _have_called, I have texted and I _have _emailed."

Aly just shrugged her shoulders, "Whatever, I like drama. It's so…"

"Dramatic?" Taylor finished.

The two laughed and continued hugging. Hannah and Nick made their way over towards Kevin, Taylor and Aly. "So the groups back together now?" Hannah laughed. Taylor glided towards Hannah and pulled her into a hug, Hannah rested her chin on Taylor's shoulder. "I've missed you" she whispered. Tears pricked both girls eyes, when Selena had mention Hannah and her practically being sisters, Taylor took that as a stab.

That's how she and Miley used to be, but things just changed after a certain amount of time. "I have an idea!" a light bulb went off in Hannah's head. "Oh god…" Nick muttered under his breath. Miley brushed his joke off and continued talking. "Sleepover tonight! My house, with Lily, AJ, Aly and Selena"

Taylor considered this for a moment, catching up with them _did_ sound pretty good. "Sounds great Miles" she smiled.

Aly rushed over to the two and brought them into a hug, they all laughed; Nick and Kevin soon joining in. "Aww … Kodak moment!" Joe exclaimed, running over towards the group. The 5 of them fell silent as he finally made it towards Taylor.

"Hey Taylor" he smiled shyly.

Her smile brightened, there was no awkwardness between them. Never had there been any, so why would there be any now.

"Joey, Joey, Joey…" she tisked, "Why aren't you hugging me right now?"

The two let their bodies connect, embracing each other. "Now _this, _is a Kodak moment" Aly smiled.

They all laughed as Taylor and Joe pulled away from each other. Yet, Joe was still holding onto her waist when Oliver, AJ and Lily made their way over.

"Taylor!!" Lily exclaimed, running up to her friend. But, she stopped in her tracks when she realized where Joe's arm was. "Taylor?" she asked, more then exclaimed this time.

"Hi Lily.."

* * *

**So now you know what happened with Ricky, Kevin and Selena. In the next chapter, you'll probably find out what happened between Miley and Jake. Can't wait to hear what you've got to say! :)**

**xxEmilyKearsexx**


	31. Party

_Get your party on  
Now were singin'  
Hold on tight  
It's a crazy night  
Get your party on  
And we're screaming  
Out loud_

"The popcorn is in the microwave, John Tucker Must Die is in the DVD player, we have 4 pounds of gummy bears and the girl's should be here in a few minutes … we are officially ready to party!" Miley exclaimed as she skipped into the living room and out of the kitchen.

"Great!" Taylor half-smiled as she spread out her sleeping bag, right next to Miley's. "What's up?" Miley asked while plopping down onto the couch and grabbing the remote, she started to casually flip through the channels.

"Nothing…" Taylor smiled, trying to convince Miley that she was fine. Miley gave her "the look" as Taylor would put it and she gave in, "Did you think Lily was being a little hostile towards me?" Taylor asked, finally giving up on the sleeping bag and taking a seat next to Miley.

Miley turned to face Taylor and thought back to a few hours ago, Lily _had_ been acting a little strange, almost as if she was forcing her happiness to see Taylor. "I guess…" Miley scratched her head. Taylor sighed, but then her cheery mood picked up again, "So how's Joe? I mean, I know I talked to him, but we didn't exactly go over every little detail on what we've been doing lately…"

A light bulb went off in Miley's head, Joe!

Jeez, Lily needs to stop obsessing over him. "JOE!" she exclaimed. "Um, yeah…" Taylor giggled softly, unsure of why Miley was yelling, "I was just asking…"

"No…" Miley laughed, "Joe's great it's just Lily's probably being weird because…"

Miley jumped as the sound of the doorbell rang throughout the household. "They're here!" Taylor exclaimed, shooting up from the couch and running over towards the door. She opened the door within one swift motion. Lily and Selena stood outside the door, holding their sleeping bags underneath their arms. "Hi!" Taylor exclaimed cheerfully.

How did she stay cheerful almost 24/7?

"Hey!" Selena smiled, stepping into the house; Lily following her. Taylor was about to shut the door when she heard Aly scream, "AJ YOU'RE GONNA TALK TO HIM IN THE FREAKIN MORNING! HANG UP THE DAMN PHONE!"

She raised her eyebrows expectantly as Aly trudged up to the front porch step, AJ right behind her.

"Honestly AJ, you're obsessed…" Aly grumbled under her breath. "Hey! It's not my fault! Ok? I mean, did you see how perfect his hair was today? Oh and the way he kept calling me AJ?" AJ sighed dreamily.

Aly rolled her eyes, "That's cause it's your name!" she exclaimed, walking right past Taylor and into the house. AJ grumbled something about Aly being jealous before going inside as well.

"Ok then …?" Taylor laughed, closing the door behind her.

* * *

The room was now completely dark except for the light coming from the microwave's clock and the streams of moonlight finding its way in through the window. "Pssst..." Selena whispered, "What?" Miley sighed.

"When are you leaving?" she asked, looking over towards the clock. It was now 11 PM and Miley was supposed to sneak over to the Jonas' house around 12. "Midnight" she whispered back, "Wait! Stop bringing that up!" she whispered/hissed, hitting Selena with her pillow. The girl just giggled as she dodged the cushion, causing it to hit Aly.

"Alright who was that? Just because its dark doesn't mean I can't feel things!" Aly exclaimed, she glared at all the girls even though all she could see was the outline of their figures, "It was you, wasn't it Miley?"

Miley just blushed, "I know you have terrible aim!" Aly exclaimed, flinging a pillow at Miley; hitting her right in the gut.

"OW!" Miley exclaimed, holding onto her stomach in pain.

AJ sighed, sitting next to Taylor and Lily. "Aren't pillows supposed to cushion the pain?" she asked.

Taylor and Lily burst out into laughter, both clubbing AJ on the head with a pillow herself.

"Did that answer your question?" Lily giggled.

Soon enough pillows were flying everywhere; Selena took cover under the piano. AJ couldn't find anymore pillows to throw so she settled on gummy bears. Miley was laughing so much, she lost track of time. "Oh crap!" she cursed while flying up from the floor and running upstairs to her room.

The other 4 girls sat on the floor, pillows in hand; confused. "Where'd she go?" Taylor asked.

"Are you guys done, yet?" Selena asked from under the piano. The room broke out into laughter as Miley escaped into the shadows of the night.

* * *

It was now midnight and the girls had given up on looking for Miley a half hour ago, they now sat next to each other, all squished on the couch.

"Aly you're sitting on my hand" Lily whined. "You're hand is resting under my butt" Aly stuck her tongue out at the girl. "Selena, can you pass me the popcorn?" AJ asked the girl on the opposite end of the couch, "Sure" she smiled, passing the popcorn down. It ended up spilling all over Aly who jumped up and screamed, "SO THIS IS WHAT I GET FOR BEING THE OLDEST OUT OF THE GROUP?"

"Welcome to the circle…" Taylor whispered to Selena, who was the only one shocked by Aly's outburst.

* * *

"I thought you weren't going to make it…" Nick smirked, leaning against his family's mailbox. "So did I" Miley let out a sigh of relief, while lacing her fingers through Nick's. They began to walk together, their steps in sync; just like their beating hearts. **(A/N: Ok, that was cheesy. I know)**

"So…how is the sleepover going?" he teased, trying to avoid the cracks in the concrete.

Miley rolled her eyes playfully, "It's going pretty well, trust me. I have the bruises to prove it…" she giggled.

Nick gave her a questioning look and was about to ask what she was talking about when Miley stopped dead in her tracks. He looked at her astonished features, "What's the matter Mi?" he asked. She continued staring ahead. He finally followed her gaze, his eyes landing on a sign.

Right in front of the warehouse a sign sat, hammered into the ground ... it read: **Sold! Under construction soon!**

* * *

**NOOOOOOO!!**

**xxEmilyKearsexx**


	32. Everything Is Alright

_Tell me that you're alright  
Yeah everything is alright.  
Oh please tell me that you're alright.  
Yeah everything is alright._

Tears pricked Miley's eyes, "Is-is that what I think it is…?" she whispered. Nick was holding his breath, not daring to answer her rhetorical question.

"No.." she whispered, barely audible. "No." she declared more forcefully this time, "This is our place!" she exclaimed, choking back the tears, "_Our_ place!"

Nick stood there silent; his arms hanging limp against his sides. "We should go" he muttered under his breath, turning on his heel and starting to walk away.

Miley stood her ground, "I'm not leaving." She declared. "Mi" his voice was strained, "We should go"

She shook her head, not believing that their place, which held so many memories, was going to be torn down and probably turned into a mall or something. "Can we at least stay here tonight?" she pleaded.

He focused his gaze on the ground, "Maybe we should head back to my place, be alone for a little while. Then, you can return to the girls" he offered.

"Nick…" she whispered, "Please, can we stay here? It doesn't feel right being anywhere else"

Nick turned back around, facing Miley. Her hair was tousled, her face pale and the tears were slowly falling down her skin. They were steady as a clock…

_Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock._

He slowly made his way back to Miley and wrapped his arms around her waist as she collapsed into his embrace. "Things change Miley, we just have to change along with them."

A knot formed in her throat, one she couldn't swallow, "I hate change"

* * *

_3 PM._

Lily tossed and turned in her sleeping bag, she finally gave up on getting any sleep and let out a sigh. Selena, who was currently laying next to her looked over in her direction, "I can't sleep either"

"Where can she be?" Lily whispered.

Soft snores escaped from Aly and AJ's mouths, telling them that they were asleep. "She's probably at the warehouse" Taylor whispered over towards the girls as she climbed over Aly and AJ and sat at the end of Selena's sleeping bag. "You know about that?" Selena asked.

'_Miley left us for the warehouse?' _Lily thought to herself.

"Mhmm" Taylor nodded her head, causing her wavy locks to fall over her shoulder. "I was one of the first one's she told…" she blushed, "I kinda got it out of her"

Lily felt this fire be ignited within her. Taylor knew before her?

"What do you mean?" Selena asked, sitting up and resting her back against the couch.

"Well," Taylor started, "One night, we were having a sleepover and I caught her sneaking out around midnight. The next morning, I got it out of her with chocolate covered strawberries…" she smiled deviously.

"Her weakness" Lily piped in.

Taylor nodded her head proudly, "Pretty clever, huh?"

Selena let out a quiet giggle as Lily just nodded her head, "Was that the night Oliver pronounced his undying love for you?" Lily laughed.

Taylor blushed, as the memory replayed in her head, "Yeah…" her voice trailed off, "Wait, he's over me right?" she asked worriedly.

Aly rose from the sleeping bag and lifted her eye mask, "Oh trust me, he's over you" she insisted.

"Were you listening in?" Selena asked.

"She was listening in" Taylor and Lily proclaimed in unison.

They both laughed, "You'll get used to it" Aly giggled. Selena just blushed at her embarrassing question.

"Remember how AJ couldn't stop talking about that guy before?" Aly smiled.

"NO!" Taylor and Lily gasped.

"Oh!" Selena exclaimed, "Oliver!"

Aly smiled at the girl, "See, now you're catching on!"

* * *

Nick helped Miley through his window, shutting it tight behind her. "You can go over to my bed, I'm just gonna go get a glass of water for you downstairs" Nick insisted as he pointed towards the bed. Miley nodded and made her way over towards the bed, she gently sat down and buried her head in his pillow, taking in his natural scent. "Nick?" she heard a groggily voice ask.

She seemed unfazed, "No Joe…It's me" she whispered, in a daze. "Miley?" he asked, sitting up in his bed and digging his fists into his shut eyes. Miley continued to lay there, her face buried into the pillow. "Aren't you supposed to be at the…" he snapped his fingers, racking his brain for the place.

"Yes Joe. I am…" she declared, her voice fading out in the end. "Why aren't you…" he started. She cut him off, "Can we not talk about it?" she whispered, you could tell she was about to cry.

"Oh, ok" he seemed confused. He lifted himself from the bed and walked over to where Miley was laying. "Wanna talk about it … now?" he tried. Miley sprung up from the bed and was in a sitting position within 2 seconds. "How can they do that!?" she cried, throwing her hands into the air.

"Who?"

"They can't just take it away from us!" she exclaimed, shaking her head; causing pieces of her hair to fall into her tear-streaked face.

"Take what?"

"I mean, how are they gonna do it? Just tear it down without even getting our consent?"

"How what!?" Joe pleaded. Miley collapsed into his arms. She grabbed onto his shirt, trying to pull herself up, "It's not fair" she kept muttering over and over, "It's not fair"

Joe rubbed the crying girl's back soothingly. "Nothing's fair Miles, but if you explain to me what you're talking about, maybe we can think it through"

"The warehouse" she muttered, dryly, "They're tearing it down…"

"Oh" was all Joe could manage to say, at that exact moment Nick walked through the door. He walked over towards the side table and placed the glass of water on the wood. He then motioned Joe to move. Joe slid across the bed and Nick was there in an instant for Miley to rest her head upon. He quickly shushed her sobs and stroked her hair. "I'm gonna go sleep on the couch…" Joe offered, "I think you two need to work this one out alone…"

He then walked over towards his bed and grabbed his blanket and a pillow, he made his way for the door, but then turned around for a second.

"And Miles?"

She looked up to him with her over flooding pools of blue, "It may be the end of the warehouse, but the time and memories aren't going to be torn down with it" and with that, he exited the room.

* * *

She slid close the sliding door and tip-toed across the hard wooden floor; causing a few squeaks here and there. She was almost towards the piano without being caught when four heads popped up from behind the couch.

"Crap"

"Where have you been missy?" Lily scolded, waving her finger in the air and tisking her friend as she made her way out from behind the couch. Miley closed her eyes, hoping all of them would just disappear. "Out for some fresh air?" she tried.

A loud laugh escaped Aly's lips, but was silenced when a pillow collided with the back of her head.

"I'M TRYING TO FREAKIN' SLEEP HERE!" AJ shouted, then rolled over and fell back into a deep sleep.

Miley walked over towards the four girls and took a seat by her sleeping bag, the place was a mess. Sleeping bags scattered everywhere, gummy bears everywhere you looked and a bottle of nail polish spilled onto the magazines. "Nice try…" Aly muttered, rubbing her head.

"But, we know where you were…" Taylor continued.

"You were with that Jonas boy" Selena took over.

"Yeah, that … _Jonas_ boy" Lily said in disgust.

Miley watched them all in disbelief, had they all planned this?

Her question was answered when Lily and Selena high-fived each other. "We nailed it!" Selena exclaimed, "Yeah, after an hour of rehearsing it!" Lily added, glaring at Taylor.

"I'm sorry! Just when Selena said that line I died every time!" Taylor giggled.

Selena rolled her eyes and then fixated her attention back on Miley, "Hey…" she noticed Miley's strange look on her face, "Are you alright?"

Miley quickly snapped out of it, "Yeah I'm fine! I'm just, tired. Long night, so if you don't mind I'm gonna try and get some sleep now."

Taylor and Aly traded concerned looks with each other as Lily answered Miley, "Sure, we'll just be here when you wake up" she smiled.

Miley lay her head on her pillow and let her eyelids slowly droop close.

Her friends' voices drifted to the back of her mind as unconsciousness overpowered her.

"_You think she's really ok?" _

"_Guess we'll find out when she wakes up"_

"_Or … we could just ask a certain Jonas"_

* * *

**I just had to post this, seeing your reviews! :)**

**xxEmilyKearsexx**


	33. You and Me

_Cause it's you and me and all of the people with nothing to do  
Nothing to lose  
And it's you and me and all of the people_

"Do people enjoy sneaking into our house at 5 am? What is up with you people!?" Joe groaned, hiding his head under his pillow. Taylor and Selena just giggled as Joe rolled over in his bed and tried to ignore them, "So that's why Miles is upset?" Lily asked, sitting next to Nick on his bed. He just nodded and collapsed back on top of his bed.

"Well that's a bummer" Taylor shrugged her shoulders.

Selena was the only way who got what Miley was feeling right now. The warehouse was Nick and Miley's place, somewhere they could escape to. She used to feel happy and in love with Kevin, but now she just felt as if getting out of bed in the morning was pointless.

"It's not a big deal!" Joe exclaimed, his voice muffled from his head being squashed under the pillow.

"That boy has not one single romantic bone in his body…" Selena shook her head.

"And I still love him" Lily smiled cheekily.

Taylor's heart sputtered, Lily and Joe? What!?

* * *

Miley's eyes fluttered open to find Aly flipping through the channels on TV, "Oohh America's Next Top Model is on!" AJ exclaimed, sitting next to Aly on the couch. Aly quickly changed the channel, "Oohh Wizards of Waverly Place is on!" AJ exclaimed once again, causing Aly to change the channel. "You hate seeing me happy, don't you?" AJ joked.

"Aw, I love you too sis!" Aly laughed.

"What time is it?" Miley grumbled, propping herself up on her elbows, causing the sleeping bag to scrunch up underneath her. "SHE TALKS!" Aly joked.

"It's 8 am" AJ answered her question. Miley lifted herself up off the ground and wobbled over towards the kitchen island, trying to balance herself. "Whoa, someone looks a little drunk…" Aly joked.

Was she always cracking jokes like this? Or was it just too early in the morning to tell?

"I barely got any sleep last night, someone decided it would be fun to flush the toilet 6 times" Miley glared at AJ.

She looked away, embarrassed. "What?" she asked innocently, "It was clogged!"

Aly just shook her head at her sister's lame excuse, "there's some fruit out on the table…"

"Thanks…" Miley mumbled, while walking over to the table and grabbing a peach. "Hey, where's Lily? We need to be at school in like a half hour…" she wondered.

"Oh uh she's…"

"Right here!" Lily exclaimed, bursting through the door with Taylor right behind her.

"Well you look refreshed and ready to go" Miley half-smiled. Lily nodded her head, "I am. Now it's your turn! I laid out some fresh towels for you on the bathroom counter. Now go, we're gonna be late" Lily instructed.

Miley made her way for the stairs. "Hey, where's Selena?" Aly asked from the couch. Taylor took a seat on the arm chair, propping her feet up on the coffee table. "She had taping to do today…" Taylor paused, "Have you guys met David?"

AJ nodded her head, "Yeah, why?"

Taylor blushed, "He's kinda cute, don't you think?"

Aly and AJ looked at each other knowingly. At that exact moment, Jackson came speeding down the stairs. "DAD!" he shouted while walking into the living room. "Dude, could you scream any louder?" Lily rolled her eyes. Jackson stuck his tongue out at her and shouted again, "DAD! WHERE ARE YOU!?"

Lily sighed, "He's in New York City until tomorrow, remember Jerkson?" Lily joked.

"Well then, who's going to make me my pancakes?" Jackson asked.

Lily walked over towards the kitchen counter and pulled open the drawer, "You are" she smiled, handing him a whisk.

"Crap"

* * *

Demi collapsed onto her bed, "You know Dallas, I'm not sure I'm ever going to make it as big as them" she sighed.

Dallas let out a huge sigh and rolled her eyes, "You're just realizing this, now!?"

Demi lifted her head from the pillow and glared at her sister, "Could you be a little more supportive?" she hissed.

Her sister rolled her eyes, "Sorry…" she said, sarcasm dripping from her voice.

"You know, Jake isn't even paying as much attention to me as he used too…" Demi contemplated out loud.

"I heard he was seen over in the Jonas' neighborhood the other day" Dallas stated out loud, "Wonder what he was doing over there…"

"The Jonas' neighborhood?" Demi asked, suspiciously.

"Yeah" Dallas nodded her head while running Demi's brush through her hair. She looked into the mirror one last time, checking to see if her hair was perfectly smooth. "He was at some girl's house. Millie or something? I don't know…" Dallas mumbled, while taking a seat in Demi's bean bag chair. "Miley's!?" Demi gasped.

"Yeah that was her name!" Dallas' eyes brightened, "According to the pap, they have some history together. But, I wouldn't be too worried about it" Dallas shrugged it off.

However, Demi _was_ worried about it. These people just wouldn't give her a break, would they?

* * *

Miley stepped out of the shower, feeling refreshed and ready to go. She reached over towards the hanger and grabbed the soft, plush towel; wrapping it around her small figure. Her feet padded against the tiled floor, making their way towards the sink. As she brushed her tooth brush across her teeth and blow dried her hair, her thoughts wandered.

_She turned her head to find Jake Ryan sitting on _her_ couch in _her_ living room drinking out of one of _her_ mugs._

"_Jake?" she asked, confused. She continued making her way into the living room and met him by the couch, where he stood; awaiting her._

"_Yup, it's me" he smiled, nervously._

_Jake Ryan? Nervous? What universe had she just entered?_

"Uh, what are you doing here?" she forced a smile, while patting the couch; signaling him to take a seat.

"_Just wanted to talk…" _

"…_About…?" Miley asked hesitantly._

"_Would you believe me if I said I just came here to catch up on things?" he tried._

_Miley sent him the look; "Ok so I'm taking that as a no" he smiled, again; nervously. _

"_Jake, I really need to go. I'm late to meet Ni- someone" she caught herself._

_She began to get up, causing Jake to do the same. "No, no! Wait, I wanted to talk about us!" he exclaimed._

_Miley stopped dead in her tracks. "Us?" she whispered, not turning around. She had been calm this whole entire time; trying to be friendly with him, civil. But, that was no longer the case._

"_Us??" she asked more forcefully this time, she spun on her heel; now facing him. "There is no us!" she exclaimed. "Us means, you and me put together and _you_ and _me_ are through. _Have_ been through for a long time!" Miley raged on. _

_Jake bowed his head, "What if I didn't want us to be through?" he asked._

_Miley sucked in her breath and let out a hearty laugh, "You can want that all you want, but I've moved on." Her anger began to simmer and she regained her composure, starting to think rationally once again. "Jake…" she paused, "I was with you a long time ago. After we broke up, I realized that I was in love with someone else. I had just never seen it… until the day" she stopped for a moment, "you let me go"_

"_You should have never let me … let you go" Jake whispered, raising his head to connect their eyes. Miley's eyes widened, "Jake…what are you saying?"_

"_I'm saying…" he started, he slowly walked closer to her and took her hands in his. "I still love you"_

Miley snapped back to reality, dropping the toothbrush back onto the counter top and resting her hands on the edge of the counter. She closed her eyes and counted to three. Miley then opened her eyes and looked at her reflection in the mirror; all she saw was a confused little girl.

* * *

The final bell sound as Miley slipped into her homeroom. Mr. Correlli smiled at her, pleased. "You just made it…" he informed her as he shut the door and made his way over to his desk. Miley slipped into her desk and placed her books down. She jumped when a note landed right in front of her.

**MILEY! I called you this morning and Jackson picked up saying you had a rough night? What happened? Oh god, please tell me you and Nick didn't … ?**

**Love always,  
TRIPLE O!**

Miley shook her head at the clueless boy. She turned her body slightly to get a better look at Oliver who was boring his eyes into her desk, waiting for her to send the note flying back to him. She giggled slightly before writing her response.

**Oliver, I thought we talked about getting information from Jackson. DON'T!**

Love always,  
Milers

She giggled as she sent the note back to him, Miley turned back around in her seat and rested her head in her hand, letting her thoughts roam back to the other day.

"_You, you what?" she asked, in disbelief. "I'm serious" Jake stated, "I still love you and I know you still have feelings towards me! You can't get over someone that quickly" he tried to persuade her. _

_Miley shook her head, not believing what was slipping from between his lips. "I love Nick…" she declared. The voice sounded distant, almost as if it wasn't hers. Jake leant his head down, trying to refocus her gaze on him. He succeeded, her eyes locked with his once again. "That doesn't mean you can't love me too…"_

_She immediately removed her hands from his and backed away slowly, "Get out" she whispered. "Miley…" he started. "Get out!" she shouted, pointing towards the door. He nodded his head, disappointed. He hadn't gotten what he had come for. He had just made matters worse. _

"_So I'll see you around?" he asked while opening the door._

_He didn't receive an answer, only the sounds of footsteps making their way up the stairs._

She couldn't love him. Her heart belonged to Nick. Always has and always will.

Right?

"Miley Stewart?" Mr. Correlli called from up front, looking down at the attendance sheet.

"Here" she stated. Her body may have been present, but her mind was drifting far away into a land where no one could be saved from. It was drifting towards her heart.

* * *

**Nothing good ever comes out of Miley thinking! **

**xxEmilyKearsexx**


	34. I'll Be There For You

__

I'll be there for you  
(When the rain starts to fall)  
I'll be there for you  
(Like I've been there before)  
I'll be there for you  
('Cause you're there for me too)

"I want Nick. I want Nick. I want Nick." Miley kept mumbling over and over again as she made her way to her locker. It was the second to last day of school and she was nervous as heck, but for other reasons. She had been avoiding Jake _and_ Nick for the past few days, trying to figure out her feelings. She loved Nick, of course. But, what about Jake? Could she love him too? Somehow, Jake managed to "accidentally" run into her in between classes. Coincidence? She thought not. He would try and give her charms for the old charm bracelet he once got her, she threw that out of course, replacing it with Nick's promise ring.

The promise ring, saying they'd always love each other and be faithful. All she had to do was picture Nick and that ring the next time she saw Jake and she would be fine. But, everything around her lately had reminded her of Nick… It was starting to creep her out.

"Hey Mi" Oliver greeted her from behind, Miley jumped at his voice. "Oliver!" she gasped, "Don't call me that! I thought you were someone else"

He knitted his eyebrows together and shrugged his shoulders, "Whatever you say … So how was the sleepover the other night? I never got a chance to ask you about it" Oliver continued talking as he followed Miley down the hallway, "It was fine" she shrugged her shoulders. The two continued walking down the crowded hallway, trying to avoid being pushed into a locker. "What do you have now?" Oliver asked. Miley racked her brain for the answer; it was Thursday now so … "Gym" she answered.

"Ooohh that sucks" Oliver made a face. "Why?" Miley asked, the two finally reached the gym doors. "I heard Mrs. McDermott was making everyone climb the rope today, Lily even said that she and Joannie weren't too happy about it. I mean, have you seen how high that thing is?" Oliver ranted on and on. Miley's knees began to shake, when it came to sports; let's just say she wasn't the first one to be picked when it came to team games. "Oohh and what if you fall? You'll get rope burn and it will hurt when you hold the microphone on stage and you'll have to lip sync and—"

"OLIVER!" Miley cut him off. "Hmm?" he smiled. "Shut up" she rolled her eyes as she pushed open the double doors to the gym.

Oh joy.

* * *

Selena had tried to avoid Kevin for the past few days. She and Miley locked themselves up in her room, not answering calls unless it was from Lily or one of the girls. They watched "The Breakfast Club" and ate Moose Tracks ice cream the entire time. Apparently, Miley was trying to avoid something as well, but she wouldn't confide in Selena, which she found odd. Selena walked down the hallway of the Wizards set. "Hey Selena" her co-host and also semi-close friend Jennifer greeted her. "Hey Jen" she smiled, the two continued to walk besides each other until they came to David's door. Selena knocked a few times before he answered. "David speaking" he answered with a smile, Selena just laughed as she entered the room. "So is this a pleasant visit … or … one of those 'I need advice' kind of visits?" David asked, walking over to his computer desk and taking a seat. Selena collapsed onto the black couch. "I need advice" she moaned, placing the back of her hand on her forehead.

David rolled his eyes, "Kevin?"

"Why won't he just take me back?" Selena grumbled, "I mean sure I kissed Ricky, but I admitted to it being wrong and apologized, what more can I do?"

"Show him how much he means to you" David simply stated, while turning in his swivel chair and began searching the internet. "What do you mean?" Selena asked.

"Do you love him?" David asked, while clicking on something on his laptop, he never let his eyes drift away from the screen. This was so much more serious than he was taking it! "Uh, I don't know…" Selena thought about it, maybe she did.

"It's a simple question Sel, you either do or don't"

"Ok fine, I-I do!" she finally made up her mind.

"Then, you tell him … or better yet show him" he wiggled his eyebrows seductively, finally ripping his focus away from the computer screen, and before he knew it a pillow was colliding with the side of his head.

* * *

Demi walked aimlessly down the sidewalk, not planning on visiting them. However, her feet had a mind of their own; explaining why she was now on her doorstep. She rang the doorbell once, not wanting to sound rude and have a spazz attack on the poor bell by hitting it a thousand times. A teenage boy opened the door, a sandwich in hand, chomping down on the substance. "Uh, hi" she smiled. "Hey" he greeted nonchalantly, "what can I do for ya?"

"Uh, is Miley here?" she asked, hopefully. He analyzed her features just like every guy did and nodded his head, "Yeah, let me get her. Wait right here" he stated while he ran back into the house. "MILEY! SOMEONE'S HERE FOR YOU!"

"WHO!?" Demi heard Miley scream from on top of the stairs.

"Uh…" Jackson ran back to the door, "I didn't catch your name…"

"Demi" she stated.

He quickly nodded his head and ran back into the house, "DEMI!"

All that was heard next was a door slamming shut, the sound of a million footsteps stomping down the stairs and a sharp intake of air.

"Hi" Demi smiled, nervously; she waved her hand timidly.

Miley, Selena and AJ stood there by the piano, trying to find something to say. "I know this may sound a little weird…but I just wanted to say I'm sorry-"

Miley looked taken a back, "You're sorry? For what? You never did anything to me"

Demi lowered her head, "I know" she whispered.

A knot formed in Miley's throat, "You ... you know what?"

"Don't make me say it!" Demi barked, but quickly pulled back her attitude.

"You know about .. the secret!?" Miley exclaimed, "Who told you!?"

"Jake" she answered, simply. "Why-why would he do that?" Miley choked back the tears.

"I swear Demi, if you hurt her…!" Selena started, marching down the three steps leading to the living room. "I've got this…" Miley whispered, holding up her hand to stop Selena.

"But, Miley…" AJ added in.

"Guys, I'm fine. Why don't you go to the beach? I'll meet you there a little later" Miley sighed, looking over at her friends' hurt faces.

They both gave in and walked out to the back porch. Once she was sure they left and were out of ear shot she turned back to face Demi, "So what now? You're gonna sabotage my career? Steal Nick away? Try and black mail me?" Miley guessed while sitting down on the couch. Demi followed her and took a seat next to Miley. There was enough space in between them so it wasn't completely awkward. "I was kind of hoping we could start over …" she smiled, sympathetically.

"Crazy girl say what?" Miley asked, completely shocked.

"Listen," Demi sighed, "I know we haven't exactly … _gotten along_ in the past.."

Miley rolled her eyes, "Ya think?"

"But, that doesn't mean we can't start getting along now."

Miley looked at her strangely, "I'm sorry, but I can't believe you, I can't trust you, I don't even know if I can stand sitting next to you any longer" she apologized.

Demi looked towards the door, "I get that" her voice was hushed, "Maybe … I could try and earn your trust and friendship, you know?"

She looked at Demi, really looked at her and thought back on all the things Demi had done. It was all for fame, all to get her name up in the headlines. It was like a drug for some new stars and Demi was just another victim who had gotten addicted way too early.

"Maybe"

* * *

Lily lay next to Joe in his bed, the two had just got done with having a stuffed animal fight and ended up making out for the rest of the half hour. Brings back memories …

She gazed up at the glow-in-the-dark stars, glued to his ceiling and smiled. The lights were off so the stars were shining as brightly as they could, a green glow beaming down on them. "I got you those for your 15th birthday" Lily smiled, "It was a gag gift, you said you needed your room to be more manly so I got you one of the most girlish things I could find" she thought back on the memory.

"I remember Lils" he smiled.

"And you still have them up…" she contemplated.

"They remind me of you" he whispered into her ear. She turned her head that was currently resting on his chest and sent him a quizical look. "How could they possibly remind you of me?" she asked.

"Well, for one thing; you gave them to me" he joked. Lily giggled at his silliness.

"And two…" he became serious, looking down at her, he rested his forehead upon hers, "they shine almost as bright as you" he smirked, "_almost_"

* * *

Kevin walked into an empty house, he called up the stairs and got no response. "That's weird…" he muttered to himself. He walked into the kitchen and made his way over towards the refrigerator, he pulled open the door and grabbed a V8. As he took a sip of the juice, he eyed the back porch. The lights for the pool were on and whenever they left the house they always shut them off. "Even weirder…" he whispered. He set his drink down on the counter, next to the sink and walked over to the sliding door. He pulled it open and stepped out into the warm night. A gentle breeze blew by as he noticed a girl standing across the pool wearing a simple white dress, smiling nervously. "Selena?" he questioned.

He put his legs in motion and walked around the pool, never taking his eyes off her. "Hi" she simply said once he was in front of her. "Hi" he smiled; his face was practically glowing, "what are you doing here?"

"I came to share something with you"

Kevin looked down into her dark brown orbs and saw the light from the pool, flicker in her eyes. "You wanted to share something with me?" he repeated, still smiling.

She simply nodded her head and blushed. Selena then took a seat by the edge of the pool and let her legs dip into the warm water. Kevin sat down next to her; hesitantly. "I've been doing a lot of thinking lately, mostly about us…" she started.

"Yeah, me too…" he cut in.

"Let me finish" she pleaded. He nodded his head and let her start back up again, "I've been thinking a lot about us lately. About how miserable I have been without you. Sure, I went to hang out with other friends and I had a good time. I smiled, I laughed. But, I didn't put all my heart into it. It was all forced; with you … it just comes naturally. The minute I see your face, my whole day brightens. The minute you let your heavenly voice slip out from in between your cute little lips, my heart flutters. The minute I'm with you, I'm happy." Selena took a deep breath before continuing, "So basically what I'm trying to say is … I need you. I need you around me, I need you near me, I need you with me. I just need you and that's all I really know. I think- I think I love you" she whispered.

Kevin was glowing, he couldn't be any happier, "You _think_ you love me ... or you know? Because, I most definitely know that I love you"

He then slipped his index finger under her chin, lifting up her head to look at him and guided her lips to his. "I most definitely know" she murmured against his lips.

* * *

Nick and Miley were lying on top of Miley's roof. They had been kicked out of Nick's house by Selena for reasons unknown. The moon was shining rather brightly tonight, edging Miley on, taunting her; telling her to do it. She couldn't take its pressure anymore. "Have you ever loved anyone else besides me Nick?" Miley asked, out of the blue. He turned to face her, "Does my Mom count?" he laughed. She looked into his beautiful eyes and sighed, "That's not the kind of love I'm talking about …"

He knitted his eyebrows together, "Well, uh, I guess there was Peyton Freeman back in 2nd grade, but those were different times" he laughed slightly.

Miley giggled at his immaturity, "Those sure were" she added. "What made you bring that up?"

"I've just been thinking lately and …"

"Oh god" he cut in.

"Shut up" she rolled her eyes, "I'm serious"

"Go on" he insisted.

"Well, I was just thinking about how maybe you can love more than one person. Maybe not as much as the other person, but still … you loved them" she edged on.

Nick wasn't quite following, but he told her to continue anyways. "I mean, it's just … I thought I used to love Jake, but then I opened myself up to you and found that he meant nothing to me compared to you. And now …"

"You're not sure if you made the right decision a long time ago" Nick finished for her.

Miley looked down ashamed, "Pretty much"

"Well Miley, I know that I love you. I know that-that I love Aly and Selena and AJ and Taylor and Lily; like really love them. But, deep down in my heart I know that no one will ever compare to you…"

She connected their eyes and felt them start to sting, "It's your choice Mi. I don't want to be that boyfriend who runs out on you before you even get a say. I want to put your happiness before mine. Yours is more important."

"But, I want you to be happy" she begged.

Nick shook his head, "You're more important"

* * *

**One more chapter to go and then it's done! I am DIEING to hear your feedback on this chapter and the next one. Your thoughts and opinions are what kept me going with the story so I'd like to hear them now, more than ever.**

**Which leads me to .. the begging part! WOOO! (I know we all love this part of the "Emily talks about nothing" segment)**

Please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please, **please, please, please, please, please, please,please, please,please, please, please, please, please, (gasps for breath) please, please, please, please, please, please, please,please, pleaaaasssseeee with a cherry on top :)**

**xxEmilyKearsexx**


	35. Please Be Mine

_Till the end of time  
Please be mine_

The waves crashed against the rocks as they played in the salty water. Miley watched from afar, seeing her friends smile. Joe threw Lily over his shoulder, dragging her into the water while Kevin, Aly and Selena threw the Frisbee around, just by the edge of the water. "It's nice, isn't it?" she heard Nick ask, coming up from behind her. Miley nodded her head and smiled, as he wrapped his arms around her waist; she leaned back into his embrace.

The sun was setting and her Dad and Selena's mom were starting the fire. Mrs. Jonas and Lily's mother were searching for the marshmallows while Mr. Jonas tried to pull Frankie out of the sand; Joe had thought it would be funny to bury him there.

Miley could hear AJ's laughter in the distance; she and Oliver were dancing to the portable radio that was blasting old tunes. She could have sworn she heard "Kids in America" sung by: A Teens playing; that brought back memories.

"Glad school's over?" Nick asked, as he pulled himself up on the giant rock that she was currently sitting upon. "Am I ever!" she giggled, "SUMMER'S HERE BABY!" she threw her hands in the air, closed her eyes and dragged in a deep, longing breath; trying to suck in all the laughs that lay ahead, the many smiles and memories just waiting to be made.

The two sat there in silence for a while, just gazing out into the horizon; watching the sun slowly set. "Are you glad you chose me?" Nick asked, tearing his gaze away from the sun and targeting it on her. Miley knitted her eyebrows together, confused as to why he would ask such a silly question, "There was never a choice" Miley flicked her eyes onto Nick's lips and then back to his eyes, then once again back on his lips. The two slowly leaned in, pressing their lips onto the others; practicing an act they had been doing for a long, long time. Miley closed her eyes and smiled into the kiss, _this_ is what she had wanted. They sat their on that exact rock for the rest of the night; sneaking kisses, whispering endless nothings into each others ears and watching their loved ones smile and laugh together.

**Life was like a rollercoaster; it had its ups and downs**

"Are you happy?" Selena asked, very blunt about it. She snuggled deeper into the blanket that was wrapped around her tiny frame, trying to hide the blush creeping up on her. "I'm with you aren't I?" Kevin smirked, pulling her closer to him and placing a gentle, sweet kiss on her forehead.

_She was with the one person who made her happy_.

**The unexpected turns and curves**

Joe picked up both Taylor and Lily, throwing them into the water. Taylor and Lily came up from underneath the surface laughing. They immediately brought him under with them.

_He had his two best friends, that's all he could ask for._

**  
But, it all ended up leading to the same destination**

Miley gazed over at Nick and smiled. They may not have the warehouse anymore, but she still had him.

**In his arms**

* * *

**The End :(**

**Thanks to all you lovely and dedicated readers! Especially missing in imagination, c-melle, easilyaddicted17, KazzahBlanca, molls33192, etc. Your comments always made my day!**

**xxEmilyKearsexx**


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